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G. Brown Goook 

1887-1888 



John J. Brick 
I 896 -I 898 



UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS OF FISHERIES 



SPKNCKK I'. liAIKI) 
1871-1887 



lALL McDonald 

1888-1895 



GKOKOE M. HnwEKS 
iSgS to date 



■aBliiitntnit. 13118 



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ISriuinrrra. flD^tnattnns. aiift Arlitrurmruts 




JHaHljttujton 

(Smirritmrttt Jlriuliitg (ffffRtf 
1908 






U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR 



secri;tarv 
OSCAR S. STRATS 



ASSISTANT SECRETARY 
WILLIAINI R. WHKKLKR 



BUREAU OF nSHERIES 

COMMISSIONER OF I-ISHERIES 

GEORGE M. BOWERS 



EXECUTIVE STAEK 

Pcfiuly ConniiissiKiicr - - - - 

Chief Clerk 

Chief, Division of 1-ish Culture 
Chief, Division of Scientific Inquiry 
Chief, Division of Statistics and Methods - 
Architect and En_s;incer - - - 
Superintendent, Car and Messenner Sen ice - 
. Iccountant - . . . . . 



High M. Smith 
Irving H. Dunlap 
John W. Titcomb 
Barton W. Evermann 
Alvin B. Alexander 
Hector von Bayer 
J. Frank Ellis 
William P. Titcomr 



oc 



130 I: 



I90b 



CONTENTS 



rage 

Establishment and Functions ._--.------- 5 

Organization --------------- 7 

Resources and Investment ------------- 9 

Cultivation and Distribution of Food Fishes -------- 10 

General Importance and Extent ---------- 10 

Species Cultivated ------------ 1 1 

Hatcheries Operated ------------12 

Output and its Distribution ---------- 23 

Popularity of the Work ----- . - - . . _ 28 

Scientific Inquiry -------------- 30 

Statistics and Methods of the Fisheries --------- 36 

Alaska Salmon-Inspection Service -------- - 46 

Relations with the States and with Foreign Countries ----- 50 

Publications --------------- 53 

Some Results of the Work ------- ----- 56 

Fish Culture ._----------- 56 

Acclimatization .-.-_----.--- 66 

Biological Investigations and Experiments ------- 72 

Commercial Fisheries ------------ 77 



THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 

ITS ESTABLISHMENT, FUNCTIONS, ORGANIZATION, RESOURCES 
OPERATIONS, AND ACHIEVEMENTS 

By HUGH M. SMITH 
Deputy Commissioner of Fisheries 

ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS 

PRIOR TO 1 87 1 there was no branch of the United States Government 
especially charged with the consideration of fishery affairs, although 
fishery questions of greater or less import, some domestic, some foreign, 
had been arising ever since the achievement of national independence. 
Several of the States had already established fish commissions, and there arose 
among the State fishery authorities and the members of the American Fish 
Cultural Association (now the American Fisheries Society) an urgent demand 
for a national bureau devoted to fishery interests. Congress was thus 
influenced to action, and in the year named passed a joint resolution creating 
the oflfice of Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, whose duties were specified as 
follows : 

The commissioner of fish and fisheries shall prosecute investigations 
and inquiries on the sul\ject, with the view of ascertaining whether any 
and what diminution in the number of the food-fishes of the coast and 
the lakes of the United States has taken place; and, if so, to what causes 
the same is due; and also whether any and what protective, prohibi- 
tory, or precautionary measures should be adopted in the premises; 
and shall report upon the same to Congress. 

It was further provided that the Commissioner should be a civil officer of 
the Government, of proved scientific and practical acquaintance with the fishes 
of the coast, who should serve without additional compensation. The man 
generally regarded as preeminently qualified for the new position was Spencer 
FuUerton Baird, then Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, who 
received the appointment, at once entered on his duties, and continued the 
efficient and highly respected head of the Commission until his death, in 1887. 

Professor Baird was succeeded by one of his ablest assistants. Dr. George 
Brown Goode, eminent as administrator, ichthyologist, and fishery expert, who, 

5 



6 THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 

however, voluntarily relinquished the Commissionership after less than a year's 
incumbency in order to devote his entire time to the National Museum, of which 
he was Director. Next came Commissioner McDonald, practical fish-culturist 
and inventor of important mechanical appliances now used in the hatching of 
fish all over the world, who served until his death, in 1895, and was the first 
salaried Commissioner. He was followed by Capt. John J. Brice, a retired naval 
officer, who held the office for two years and was succeeded in 1898 by the 
present Commissioner, Hon. George Meade Bowers, under whose ten years' 
administration the service has grown in all its branches. 




MEMORIAL TO COMMISSIONER BAIRD 

This granite bowlder with bronze tablet in honor of the first United States Commissioner of Fisheries was placed at the 
Woods Hole station in 1902 by the American Fisheries Society, "in recognition of his inestimable services to 
ichthyology', pisciculture, and the commercial fisheries." 

From the very outset of its career, the fishery service has had the active 
support and cooperation of many of the leading biologists, fish-culturists, and 
fishery experts of the country, whose volunteer assistance has been an important 
factor in its development and efficiency. The early years of the Bureau were 
devoted to an active investigation of the condition of the fisheries of the 
Atlantic coast. Great Lakes, and other sections; to studies of the interior and 
coastal waters and their inhabitants, and to exploration of the offshore fishing 
banks. The cultivation of useful fishes was soon taken up throughout the 
country, and quickly attained large proportions. The natural expansion of the 
work was materially augmented from time to time by acts of Congress, and in 



ORGANIZATION 7 

a comparatively short time the operations came to have a very wide scope. In 
more recent years the work has been still further extended, so that at present 
there is scarcely a phase of aquiculture, of the fishing industry, or of biological 
and physical science as connected with the waters that does not come within 
the purview of the Bureau. 

For manv years the Bureau was without any executive control in fishery 
affairs. Under the Constitution the States legislate for themselves in such 
matters and the Federal Government has assumed no jurisdiction. The 
Bureau thus had no direct voice in the making or enforcing of any measures 
for the protection or preservation of aquatic animals, and its position, 
compared with the fishery service of other countries, was anomalous. In its 
advisory capacity, however, the Bureau has acquired an influence upon fishery 
legislation, and has now been given executive powers in Alaska for the enforce- 
ment of a comprehensive code of laws affecting the salmon fisheries. In the 
interests of the fur-seal fisheries the Bureau has since 1893 been called on to 
study the life history and migrations of the seals, to inspect conditions on the 
islands, and to submit recommendations concerning the killing of the animals. 

ORGANIZATION 

Until 1903 the Bureau was known as the " LInited States Commission of 
Fish and Fisheries," and was an independent institution of the Government, 
responsible directly to Congress. In that year it was included in the new 
Department of Commerce and Labor, becoming the United States Bureau of 
Fisheries, as known at present. 

The work at the outset naturally fell under the three general heads of 
scientific investigation, fishery inquiry, and fish-culture. This classification has 
been extended and perfected, and enters into the organization at the present 
time. 

The permanent personnel of the service includes 325 persons, of whom 83 
are on duty in Washington and 242 are at outside stations, at laboratories, and 
on vessels. The officials under the Commissioner are a Deputy Commissioner, 
a chief clerk, and a chief of each of the three divisions before referred to. AD 
subordinates are appointed, after passing the prescribed examinations, from 
the registers maintained by the Civil Service Commission. 

The Deputy Commissioner is the executive next to the Commissioner, and 
acts with full powers in the latter's absence. The Commissioner's office, which 
represents the administrative division of the Bureau and has the chief clerk at 
its head, has under it the accounting office, the office of the architect and engi- 
neer, and the office of vessels, in addition to the library, records, correspondence, 
and property. In this division there is a technical and clerical force of 18 
persons, not including messengers, watchmen, janitors, engineers, firemen, and 
laborers, and the 34 civil employees in the vessel service. 



O THK UNITED STATES liUREAU OF FISHERIES 

riif Chief of the Division of Fish Culture, with an office force of 7, directs 
the operations at the hatcheries and the planting of fish. Each hatcherv has a 
force consisting of a superintendent, fish-culturist, skilled laborers, etc., the 
number of employees for all the stations reaching a total of 168. In addition to 
these there are 13 superintendents, fish-culturists, and other employees at large. 
During the busy seasons the hatchery force is increased by the temporary 
employment of many spawn-takers and laborers as the work requires. For the 
distribution of eggs and young fish there are 6 transportation cars permanently 




"°^^flwfe' 



HEADQUARTERS OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES, WASHINGTON, D. C 



provided with crews of messengers, numbering in all 26 men. The car and 
messenger service is under the immediate direction of a superintendent. 

The Division of Scientific Inquiry includes besides its chief 6 scientific 
assistants and a number of clerks. Three special agents are employed in the 
Alaska inspection service, which is under this division, and 3 persons are per- 
manently employed at the biological laboratory at Beaufort, North Carolina. 
Numerous investigators and assistants are also employed temporarily as needed 
for the study of special problems at the laboratories and in the field. 



RESOURCES AND INVESTMENT 



RESOURCES AND INVESTMENT 

The only funds available for the operation of the Bureau are the moneys 
voted annually by Congress. The comparatively large sums collected yearly 
in the Alaska salmon-inspection service are covered intact into the Treasury. 
From its very modest beginning, with $5,000 allowed for its work, the Bureau 
has won such recognition from Congress that the appropriations for its main- 
tenance have increased steadily, and for the current fiscal year, ending June 30, 
1909, reached the substantial amount of $803,920, apportioned as follows: 

Administration: 

Salaries $45 , 380 

Miscellaneous expenses 8, 000 

Propagation of food fishes: 
Salaries — 

Office ii,8jo 

Stations and field service 156, 420 

Car and messenger service J3, 100 

Miscellaneous expenses jyj, 000 

Inquiry respecting food fishes: 
Salaries — 

Office 13, 640 

Biological station at Beaufort, N. C 2, 700 

Miscellaneous expenses 30, 000 

Statistical inquiry: 

Salaries ly, 140 

Miscellaneous expenses 7. 500 

Vessel service: 

Salaries 29, 420 

Miscellaneous expenses 70, 000 

Alaska salmon-inspection service (salaries 6, 300 

Special: 

Establishment of station for propagation of fresh-water mussels in Mississippi 

Valley 25, 000 

Construction of new steam vessel for Alaska service 20, 000 

Improvements and repairs at stations 44, 500 

Repairs to steamer Albatross 18, 000 

Total 803,920 

The land owned and occupied by the Bureau at its fish-cultural and bio- 
logical stations has an aggregate area of over 12,000 acres, with a value of 
$240,000. The improvements and equipments at these stations represent an 
investment of more than $1,000,000. Other property of the Bureau includes 
4 seagoing steam and sail vessels, 20 steam launches, and 150 small sail, power, 
and row boats, which, with equipment, have a value of $300,000. Its 6 fish- 
transportation cars are valued at $45,000. The aggregate investment of the 
Federal Government in property devoted to the fishery service is thus about 
$1,585,000. 



lO THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 

CULTIVATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES 

'1'Ik' artificial propagation of fishes was not contemplated at the time the 

Bureau was formed, but was instituted by an act of 

General Importance Congress in 1872 at the instigation of the American 

Fish Cultural Association, which had been organized 

two years before and had taken a leading part in the establishment of the 

Bureau. The fishes to which attention was given first were the shad, the 

Atlantic salmon, and the whitefish. This work proved so popular that it was 

extended annually, was supplemented by efforts in acclimatization, and soon 

overshadowed all other branches. 

The Bureau has labored to make its operations commensurate with the 
extent of the fisheries in public waters, and with the inevitable exhaustion of 
the native fish life in the smaller lakes and streams incident to the development 
of the countrv and the increase of population. The policy, as enunciated by 
Doctor Goodc, has been to carry out the idea that it is better to expend a small 
amount of public money in making fish so abundant that they can be caught 
without restriction and serve as cheap food for the people at large than to 
expend a much larger sum in preventing the people from catching the few fish 
that still remain after generations of improvidence. 

From this standpoint it is perhaps fortunate that up to the present the 
Bureau has not had to devote its major energies to the formulation and enforce- 
ment of fishery legislation, but has been able to work directly for the increase 
of fish life. PubUc or Government fish-culture has in America attained tre- 
mendous proportions, and exceeds in extent and importance that of all other 
countries combined. However, the neglect of some of the States to provide 
the minimum protection to certain species inhabiting interstate and inter- 
national waters has not only negatived the fish-cultural work of the Bureau 
and of the States themselves, but has practically inhibited it by preventing 
the possibility of securing an adequate supply of eggs, thus making desirable 
and necessary the institution of a new policy placing interstate and international 
waters under the jurisdiction of the General Government. 

In the work of the Bureau of Fisheries the United States Government has 
an especial and unique claim to the epithet "paternal." The stocking of 
waters with food fishes is a direct benefit to the public, not only increasing the 
very material that supports an enormous industry, but providing food itself 
for the individual who will use his hook and line. From year to year, as the 
importance of the work has become increasingly evident, additional hatcheries 
have been built, the capacity of existing hatcheries has been enlarged, the scale 
of the operations has been extended, new kinds of fishes have been added to 
the output, and new sections have been brought under the direct influence of 
the work. 



CULTIVATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES II 

At the end of the first ten years of the Bureau's existence the fishes that 

. were being regularly cultivated were shad, carp, 

1 he Species Cultivated , . , , « ^i i- i 1,1,1 , 

chmook salmon, Atlantic salmon, landlocked sal- 
mon, rainbow trout, brook trout, and whitefish, in addition to which the propa- 
gation of several others had been undertaken experimentally. The list now is 
six times as long, and the annual output is ten times the aggregate for the ten- 
year period ended in 1881. The main energies are devoted to the important 
commercial fishes — shad, whitefish, lake trout. Pacific salmons, white perch, 
yellow perch, cod, flatfish — and the lobster, which are hatched in lots of many 
millions annually. More widely popular, however, are the distributions of the 
fishes of the interior waters which are generally classed as game fishes. Although 
representing only about 10 per cent of the output of the hatcheries, this feature 
of the work is very important, for it supplies choice kinds of fish for public 
rivers, lakes, and ponds, and for fishing preserves and private ponds and streams 
in all parts of the United States. The fishes most in demand for these purposes 
are the landlocked salmon, the different species of trout, the grayling, the basses, 
the crappies, the sunfishes, and the catfishes, but various others are also handled. 
Following is a classified list of the native fishes artificially propagated during 
1908: 

The c.wfishes (Silurid.e): 

Spotted cat, blue cat, channel cat {Ictalurus punctatus). 

Horned pout, bullhead, yellow cat {Ameiurus ncbulosus). 

Marbled cat (Ameiurus ncbulosus marmoratus). 
The shads and herrings (Clupeid.b): 

Shad (Alosa sapidissima). 
The salmons, trouts, whitefishes, etc. (Salmonid.-e): 

Common whitefish (Coregonus clupeijormis). 

Lake herring, cisco [Argyrosomus artedi). 

Chinook salmon, king salmon, quinnat salmon (Oncuihyiichus tschawylscha). 

Silver salmon, coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch). 

Blueback salmon, redfish, sockeye (Oncorhynchus nvrka). 

Humpback salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha). 

Steelhead (Salmo gairdneri). 

Rainbow trout (Salmo irideus). 

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). 

Landlocked salmon (Salmo sebago). 

Yellowstone Lake trout, cut-throat trout, black-spotted trout (Salmo lewisi). 

Colorado River trout, black-spotted trout (Salmo pleuriticus) . 

Golden trout (Salmo roosevelti). 

Lake trout, Mackinaw trout, longe, togue (Cristi-vomcr namaycusk). 

Brook trout, speckled trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). 

Sunapee trout (Salvelinus aureolus). 

Canadian red trout (Salvelinus marstoni). 

Hybrid trout (Salvelinus aureolus -\- jontinalis). 
The graylings (Thvmallid.b): 

Montana grayling (Thytnatlus monianus). 
The basses, sunfishes, and crappies (Centrarchid/E) : 

Crappy (Pomoxis annularis). 

Strawberry bass, calico bass (Pomoxis sparoides). 



1 



12 THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 

The basses, sunfishes, and crappies (Centrarchid^e) — Continued. 

Rock bass, red-eye, goggle-eye {Ambloplites rupestris). 

Warmouth, goggle-eye (Chcenohryttus gulosus). 

Small-mouth black bass (Micropterus dolomieu). 

Large-mouth black bass {Micropterus salmoides). 

Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis pallidus). 
The perches (Percid/E): 

Pike perch, wall-eyed pike, yellow [)ike, blue pike (Stizosiedion vitreum). 

Yellow perch (Perca flavescens). 
The sea basses (Serranid^): 

Striped bass, rockfish (Roccus lin-eatus). 

White bass (Roccus chrysops). 

White perch (Moron-e amcricana). 

Yellow bass (Morone inlerrupta). 
The drums (Sci^nid.e): 

Fresh-water drum (Aplodinotus gruiiniens). 
The labrids (Labrid.e): 

Tautog, blackfish (Tautoija oiiitis). 
The cods (Gadid^e): 

Cod (Gadus callarias). 

Pollock (Pollachius virens). 

Haddock {Melanogrammus (i-glijinus) . 
The flounders (PlEuronectid^): 

Winter flounder, American flatfish (Pscudoplcuroncctes iimcricaiius). 
Crustaceans: 

American lobster [llomariis amcricnnns). 

In addition to the foregoing, various kinds of fishes are obtained from the 
overflows in the Mississippi Valley and are distributed. Among these are tlie 
small-mouth buffalo-fish {Ictiobus bubalus) , the pike {Esox lucius) , the pickerel 
{Esox reticulatiis) , and several sunfishes (chiefly Eupomotis gibbosus). From 
this same source are also collected large numbers of large-mouth black bass, 
crappies, rock bass, and bluegill sunfish. The following introduced species are 
cultivated to a limited extent : 

Carp (Cyprinus carpio). Propagated chiefly for food for other flslies. 

Goldfish (Carassius auratus). Propagated for ornamental i)urposes. 

Tench {Tinea tinea). Cultivated varieties, green tench and golden tench; propagated for 

ornamental purpo.ses. 
Ide {Lcticiscus idus). Cultivated variety, golden idc; projiagatcd for ornamental purposes, 
luiropean sea trout {Salmo trutta). 
I.och Leven trout {Salmo trutta kvenensis). 

Kish-cultural stations are established by special act of Congress, and their 

location and construction are determined bv the 
The Hatcheries Operated „ ,^ , , j. ^, -i i i ' •. 

Bureau after a careful survey of the available sites 

in a given State. The plans and specifications for each station are prepared in 

the office of the architect and engineer with reference to the nature of the 

operations to be conducted and the topographical conditions, and the work of 

constructing buildings and ponds is usually done by contract. Sometimes, 

however, the Bureau takes direct charge of construction, as in the case of the 

salmon iiatcheries in Alaska. 



CULTIVATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES 



13 



The usual buildings at a fish-cultural station are the hatchery proper, a 
residence for the superintendent and his family, and necessary outbuildings. 
At some stations there may be also power house, foreman's or fish-culturist's 
dwelling, mess hall, and stable. The superintendent's and other quarters are 
furnished gratis, but station employees provide their own subsistence. 

All sections of the country are now familiar with Government fish-cultural 
work. In addition to the regular hatcheries, with their permanent personnel 
.and living quarters, there are maintained numerous auxiliary hatcheries or 




SUPERINTENDENT'S RESIDENCE AT A NEW ENGLAND TROUT-HATCHING STATION 

substations which from the nature of their work do not re(|uire a permanent 
force and are therefore, for economic and administrative considerations, operated 
as adjuncts of nearby hatcheries. Some of the auxiliary stations, however, 
have more extensive operations than the hatcheries with which they are con- 
nected, and such will doubtless in time be made regular stations. There is 
also another class of stations, known as field or collecting stations, which serve 
as temporary headquarters for parties engaged in obtaining eggs from wild 
fishes. In 1908 the fish-cultural work was conducted in 27 States and Terri- 
tories at 55 hatcheries and subhatcheries and 64 field stations. 




*/lEW OF INTERIOR OF THE GLOUCESTER HATCHERY 
Shoninjj aiHoinalic tidal boxes in whicli buoyant ova arc incubated. 



CULTIVATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES 



15 



While marine operations have been conducted from time to time at various 
places on the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, and have been addressed 
to a large number of species, the only permanent marine hatcheries are in Maine 
and Massachusetts, with the species handled at each as indicated in the 
following table. The places shown under each station are the centers of egg- 
collecting operations. Other sea fishes that have in previous years been arti- 
ficially propagated and may again come under the hand of the fish-culturist 
are the haddock, the scuppaug, the sheepshead, the sea bass, the mackerel, 
and the squeteague, some of which were hatched on the steamer Fish Hawk in 
Chesapeake Bay and Florida. 

Marine Hatcheries. 



Species 



Boothbay Harbor, Me 

Pemaquid, Me 

Portland, Me 

Kittery Point, Me 

Gloucester, Mass 

Beverly, Mass 

Boston, Mass 

Cohasset, Mass 

Hull, Mass 

Marblehead, Mass Lolister 

Plymouth, Mass Cod. 

Portsmouth, N. H | Lobster. 

Rockport, Mass Lobster 

Woods Hole, Mass 

Chilmark, Mass 

Dartmouth, Mass . I Lobster. 

East Greenwich, R. I Flatfish. 

Gay Head, Mass < Lobster. 

Gosnold, Mass ' Lobster. 

Nantucket, Mass Lobster. 

Plymouth, Mass Cod. 

Sandwich, Mass ' Lobster. 

Waquoit, Mass _ _ I Flatfish. 

Westport, Mass Lobster. 

West Tisbury , Mass Lobster. 

Yarmouth, Mass Lobster. 



Cod, lobster. 

Lobster. 

Lobster. 

Lobster. 

Cod, pollock, llatfish, lobster. 

Lobster. 

Lobster. 

Lobster. 

Lobster. 



Cod, tautog, flatfish, lobster. 
Lobster. 



The fish-cultural work on the eastern coast streams was centered at 
6 hatcheries and subhatcheries in 1908. At i of these the principal species 
handled is the Atlantic salmon, at 4 the shad, at 3 the yellow perch, at 2 




SHAD-HATCHING STATION ON ALBEMARLE SOUND. NORTH CAROLINA 

The recent passage by the State legislature of laws reducing the obstruction by nets in the waters through which the shad 
must run to reach their spawning grounds has made it possible for this station again to collect large numbers of 
eggs from fish caught for market, and practically to insure the perpetuation of a fishery that had previously been 
ilirt-atencd with speedy extinction. 




SHAD HATCHERY AT BATTERY ISLAND, MARYLAND 

na River, and one of the oldest and most successful hatcheries for shad. White perch 

and yellow perch also arc liatched at this point. 



CULTIVATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES 1/ 

the white perch, and at i the striped bass. In recent years the Bureau 
has operated a shad hatchery on the Delaware River, and has detailed the 
steamer Fish Hawk for shad hatching in Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina, 
and Florida. The Central Station, in Washington, is operated largely for ex- 




INTERIOR OF SHAD HATCHERY AT BATTERY ISLAND, MARYLAND 

perimental and exhibition purposes, but sometimes receives large numbers of 
eggs from the adjacent river stations, especially when the latter are overstocked. 

Hatcheries on East Coast Rivers. 



Location. 


Fishes handled. 


Craig Brook, Penobscot River, Me 


Atlantic salmon, landlocked salmon, hump- 




back salmon, brook trout. 


Staceyville, Upper Penobscot River, Me 


Atlantic salmon. 


Havre de Grace, Susquehanna River, Md 


Shad, yellow perch, white perch. 


Bryans Point, Potomac River, Md 


Shad, yellow perch. 


Edenton, Albemarle Sound, N. C-- 


Shad. 


Weldon, Roanoke River, N. C 


Striped bass. 


Washington, D. C, Potomac River 


Shad, yellow perch, white perch, etc. 



5577S-0S- 



i8 



THK UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



In order to counteract the effect of the very exhausting fisheries of the 
Great Lakes, the Government has maintained hatcheries for many years, and 
in 1908 operated 6 belonging to the United States and 2 belonging to the State 
of Michigan. The fishes to which attention is given are those which enter most 




The principal slatii 



HATCHERY AT NORTHVILLE, MICHIGAN 
lake trout; also operatt-d for brnok trout ai 



outh black bas: 



largely into the catch of the fishermen, namely, the whitefish, cisco, lake trout, 
and pike perch, the annual output of which now exceeds i K billions. Under 
arrangement with the Canadian authorities, 2 egg-collecting stations for white- 
fish, cisco, and lake trout are maintained at points in Ontario. 



CULTIVATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHEvS 
Hatcheries on the Great Lakes. 



19 



Location. 



Fishes handled. 



Cape Vincent, Lake Ontario, N. Y Whitefisli, lake trout, brook trout, steel- 
head, landlocked salmon, pike perch, 
yellow percli. 

Put-in Bay, Lake Erie, Ohio Wliitefish, lake cisco, lake trout, pike perch. 

Kelleys Island, Ohio a _ Whitefish. 

Middle Bass Island, Ohio " Whitefish. 

Monroe Piers, Mich.o Whitefish, pike perch. 



North Bass Island, Ohio <» 

Pelee Island, Ontario (Canada) « 

Port Clinton, Ohioo 

Toledo, Ohio " 

Northville, Mich.'' 

Alpena, Lake Huron, Mich 

Beaver Island, Lake Michigan, Mich.<2_ 

Charlevoix, Lake Michigan, Mich 

Detroit, Detroit River, Mich. <: . 

Algonac, Lake Huron, Mich." 

Bay City, Lake Huron, Mich." 

Belle Isle, Detroit River, Mich. a 

Grassy Isle, Detroit River, Mich." 

Sault Stc. Marie, St. Marys River, Mich.<;__ 

Duluth, Lake Superior, Minn 

Isle Royale, Mich.o 

Keweenaw Point, Mich.'' 

Marquette, Mich.o 

Ontonagon, Mich." . . _ 

Rossport, Ontario (Canada) a 



Whitefish, lake cisco. 

Whitefish, lake cisco. 

Whitefish, lake cisco, pike perch. 

Pike perch. 

Lake trout, etc. 

Whitefish, lake trout. 

Lake trout. 

Whitefish, lake trout. 

Whitefish, pike perch. 

Pike perch. 

Pike perch. 

Whitefish. 

Whitefish. 

Whitefish, lake trout. 

Whitefish, lake trout, pike perch, etc. 

Lake trout. 

Lake trout. 

Lake trout. 

Lake trout. 

Lake trout. 



a Egg-collecting stations. 

ff Interior station, headquarters of the fish-cultural work in Michigan, 
the lake-trout eggs are hatched. 

<■ Hatcheries belonging to State of Michigan, leased by Bureau of Fisheries 



ntly located, and place where most of 



The hatcheries on the rivers and lakes of the Pacific coast region are devoted 
almost exclusively to the various salmons. In California, where the Bureau 
established a salmon hatchery as early as 1872, there is one central or main 
station, at Baird, on the McCloud River, with important collecting and eveing 
stations on two other tributaries of the Sacramento. In Oregon a central 
hatchery at Oregon City, on the Willamette River, has 3 subhatcheries on 
tributaries of the Columbia in Oregon and Washington, and 3 subhatcheries on 
tributaries of the Rogue River, Oregon, in addition to several egg-collecting 
stations. The interests of the large salmon fisheries of the Puget Sound region 
are safeguarded by a hatchery on Baker Lake, on the Skagit River, Washington, 



20 Till'. rxiTKI) STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 

witli an important auxiliary at Birdsview. The two latest additions to the western 
salmon hatcheries are at Yes Bay and Afognak, in Alaska, at which points 
innnense numbers of blueback or sockeye salmon are now being put forth. A 
significant feature of artificial propagation on the Pacific seaboard is that in 
the Columbia basin the hatching of the acclimatized shad has begun on a small 
scale, and in the Sacramento basin the cultivation of the acclimatized striped 
bass has commenced under conditions which indicate that more eggs of this 
species mav be obtained in California than in any of the States to which the 
fish is native. 

IIatciiivries on the P.vcinc Co.vsT Stki;.\ms ,\.\i> I.akks. 



HANDLED. 



ISaird, Sacramento River, Cal CliiiKxik salmon. 

Battle Creek, Cal.". _ Chinook salmon. 

Bouldin Island, Cal Striped Ijass. 

Mill Creek, Cal." Cliinook salmon. 

Vreka, Sacramento River, Cal,'' Rainbow trout. 

Baker Lake, Wash- - . - Chinook salmon, lilueliack salmon, luinip- 

back salmon, silver salmon. 

Birdsview, Wash Chinook salmon, blueback salmon, luun|)- 

back salmon, silver salmcm, stcelhcad 
trout. 

Oregon City, Willanu'lle River, Oreg -. Chinook salmon, silver salmon, steelhead 

trout, etc. 

Big Wliite Salmcjn, Columbia River, Wash Chinook salmon. 

Eagle and Tanner creeks, Columbia River, Chinook salmon. 
Oreg." 

Eagle Creek, Clackamas River, Oreg.'' .. StccUiead trout. 

Little White Salmon, Columbia River, Wash. Chinook salmon. 

Rogue River, Oreg Chinook salmon, stcelhcad trovit, silver 

salmon. 

Applcgate Creek, Oreg.''- - Chinook salmon, steelhead Iroul, silver 

salmon. 

Findley Eddy, Rogue River, Oreg Chinook salmon, silver salmon. 

Illinois River, Rogue River, Oreg - Chinook salmon, steelhead trout. 

Willamette Falls, Willamette River, Oreg- Shad. 

Yes Bay, Yes Lake, Alaska Blueback salmon. 

Afognak, Afognak Island, Alaska Blueback salmon. 

" Statinlis whiTO c-ggs arc collected and eyed. '' Collecting stations. 

The hatcheries in the interior regions constitute the most numerous class, 
and their output reaches the largest number of people. Their operations are 
addressed chiefly to the so-called "game" fishes, which, while caught mostly by 
anglers, nevertheless constitute an important eletnent of the food supply. At 
these 'stations large numbers of fish are reared to the tnigerling or yearling sizes 



CULTIVATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES 2 1 

before being released ; for this purpose more or less extensive pond areas are 
required. A peculiar kind of station which is included in this general class is 
that devoted to the collection of fishes of various kinds obtained from the over- 
flows in the upper Mississippi Valley. In the lowlands along the streams in 
this region the spring floods receding leave disconnected sloughs and pools, which 
either become dry during the summer or, if they remain until the winter, freeze 




ARTIFICIAL SPAWMINQ POND AND RACEWAY 
Used in culuirc of riiiiihow trout ul the Wytheville. \'irgiiiia, station. 

solid, and the immense numbers of bass, crappy, and other desirable species 
therein are lost in the ordinary course of events. By seining these waters the 
Bureau thus obtains large numbers of fish that would otherwise perish, returning 
some of them to their native streams and distributing others to adjacent waters. 
In the autumn of 1908 six cars were employed in moving the fishes thus rescued. 
The following table, giving the interior fish-cultural stations and their auxil- 
iaries, shows that in 1908 there were operated 23 of these stations and substations 



22 



THK UNITED STATES liUREAU OF FISHERIES 



where hatching operations were conducted and 21 others where eggs or fish 
were simply collected : 



Hatcheries in Interior States. 



Location. 


Pishes handlsd. 


lidzenian, Mont. — 


Brook trout, rainbow trout, black-spotted trout, 
golden trout, steelhead trout, landlocked salmon. 


Redrock, Mont 


Grayling. 


Bullochville, Ga 


Black basses, sunfishes, rock bass, catfish, etc. 


Ervvin, Tenn 


Black basses, sunfishes, rock bass, yellow perch, rain- 
bow and brook trouts, catfish, and minor species. 


Green Lake, Me - - 


Landlocked salmon, brook trout. 


Uranch Pond, Me." . _ 


Landlocked salmon, brook trout. 


Grand Lake Stream, Me- 


Landlocked salmon, brook trout. 




Rainbow trout, golden trout, black-s])(ittc(l troul, 
brook trout, landlocked salmon, grayling. 




Cheesman Lake, Colo." 


Rainbow trout. 


Darrah, Colo." 


Brook trout. 


Edith Lake, Colo." 


Brook trout. 


Eldora Lake, Colo." 


Brook trout. 


Englebrecht Lake, Colo." 


Brook trout. 


Grand Lake, Colo 


Black-spotted truut. 


Grand Mesa Lakes, Colo- 


Black-spotted truut, rainbow trout, hro(]k tmut. 


Musgrove Lake, Colo." .. 


Brook trout. 


Ridgway Lake, Colo." 


liniiik troul, rainl>o\v Iniut. 


Twin Lakes, Colo." _ . _ 


Brook troul. 






Zocble Lake, Colo." 


Brook trout. 


Mammoth Spring, Ark 


Black basses, rock bass. 




Black basses, crappies, sunfishes, rock bass, pike 
perch, yellow perch, brook trout, lake trout, rain- 
bow^ trout, black-spotted trout, catfish. 




Hellevne, Iowa * _ 


Large-mouth black bass, crappies, sunfishes, yellow 
perch, fresh-water drum, buffalo-fish, catfish. 


La Crosse, Wis.b 


Large-mouth black bass, crappies, sunfishes, rock 
bass, yellow perch, white bass, pike, bufTalo-fish, 
catfish. 


\orth McGregor, Iowa & 


Large-mouth black bass, crappies, sunfishes, yellow- 
perch, drum, pike, bulTalo-fish, catfish. 


.Nashua, N. H ._ 


Lake trout, brook trout, Sunapee trout, rainbow- 
trout, hybrid trout, landlocked salmon, chinook 
salmon, small-mouth black bass. 


Cumberland Center, N. HS 


Brook trout. 


Lake Sunapee, N. H." 


Brook trout, vSunapee trout. 



« Stalio 
6 Statio 
c Statini 



i for the collection of eggs 
i for the rescue of young and iidult fishes 
where eggs are coUectetl :md eyed but iin 



ed lands of Mississippi River and tributaries. 



CULTIVATION AN'D DISTRIBUTION* OF FOOD FISHES 
Hatcheries in Interior States — Continued. 



23 



« See also in list of Great Lakes hatcheries. 

' Stations for the rescue of young and adult fishe 

f Stations for the collection of eggs. 



from overflowed lands of Mi: 



Location. 


Fishes handled. 




Black basses, crappies, sunfishes, rock bass, rainbow 

trout. 
Brook trout. Loch Leven trout, steelhead trout, 

sraall-mouth black bass, and minor species. 

Pike perch, black bass, and minor species. 

Large-mouth black bass, crappies, sunfishes, pike 
perch, yellow perch, catfish, and minor species. 

Small-mouth black bass, landlocked salmon, steel- 
head trout, lake trout, brook trout. 

Brook trout. 

Brook trout. 

Brook trout. 

Brook trout. 

-Brook trout. 

Pike perch, yellow perch. 

Large-mouth black bass, crappies, sunfishes, rock 
bass, warmouth bass. 

Rainbow trout, black-spotted trout. Loch Leven 
trout, brook trout. 

Brook trout. 

Black-spotted trout. 

Large-mouth black bass, sunfishes, yellow bass. 

Black basses, rainbow trout, black-spotted trout, 
brook trout. 


Northville, Mich." .- -- 

Quincy, 111 -- 

Meredosia, 111.'' . . 

St. Johnsbury, Vt 




Darling Pond, Vt.'' _ 

Lake Mansfield, Vl'- 

Lake Mitchell, Vt.'- --1. 
Swan ton, \'t _ . _ . 






Yellowstone Park, \Vy 

Tupelo, Miss 

White Sulphur Springs, W. \'a 



The Output and its 
Distribution 



The fish-cultural work of the Federal Government has now attained a 
magnitude that can not readily be comprehended, 
and is increasing at an exceedingly rapid rate. 
Especially marked has been the increase in the 
hatchery product during the past ten years, owing in part to the establishment 
of new stations, in part to the extension of operations at existing stations, and 
in part to greater efficiency of methods and appliances. The work during the 
fiscal year ended June 30, 1908, reached larger proportions than ever before, 
notwithstanding a shrinkage in the operations addressed to several important 
species. In the following summary by species of the fecundated ova, the fry, 
and the fingerlings, yearlings, and adults distributed in the past year it will be 
noted that several fishes included in the list of species cultivated do not appear 
in this table, for the reason that the entire stock was retained for breeding pur- 
poses. Ornamental species are likewise omitted from the table. 



24 



THE rxiTED STATES lU'REAU OF FISHERIES 
Summary of Distributionof Fish and Eggs during the Fiscal Year 1908. 





Species. 


Eggs. 


Fry. 


Fingerlings. 
yearlings, 
and adults. 


T 


ital. 


Catfisli 








277, 601 




277, 601 


Carj) 









BulTiilo-rish 

Shad 

Whitefish . . 

Lake cisco _ _ 

Chinook sahiion 

Silver sahiion_ 

Bluebaek salmon 

Humpback salmon 

Steelhead trout 

Rainbow trout 

Atlantic salnioi. 

Landlocked saliimn 

Black-spotted trout ^ 

Loch Leven trout. . 

Lake trout- . 

Brook trout 

Sunapcc trout 

Graylin<; 

Pikes. . 

Crappy and stra\vl>trry h: 

Rock bass 

Wannouth bass 

Sinall-moulh black bass__ 

Large-mouth black bass 

Sunfishts 

Pike perch 

Yellow perch 

Striped bass 

White perch 

White bass 

Fresh-water drum. _ 

Cod 

Pollock 
Tautog 

Flatfish 

Lobster 

Total 



760,000 I 79,316,600 

1 Y), 266, 000 384, 480, 000 

IJ, 790, 000 I 3, 200, 000 

68,385,550 24,998, 185 

296, 000 1 13, 420, 714 

75,000 69,883,305 

7,185,748 

.133.7^5 1,123,146 

830, 000 253, 650 

2,079,514 

190, 000 441, 281 

768,380 4,230,540 

2.734,000 ■ 25,267,078 

1 , 473, 400 6, 307, 048 

19" • 736 

200,000 1,047,000 



18, 725, OHO 

2, 080, 000 



232,312 
-'3, ')i>n 



2 


231,797 




57.932 




59. 000 


2 


713,600 




30. 003 




151.526 


I 


442, 376 




55.012 


3 


182,080 


3 


471. 292 



200, 268 

25,090 

1,638 

78,940 

,S88, 047 

J02,8lO 

193,438,000 I 

382,576,000 68,045 

4.333.500 ' . .. 

321, 670, 000 

- 500 

26, 000 

235. 365.000 

66,454, 000 

794, 000 - 

389,642,000 ' 

180, 932, 000 I, Oil 





277 


601 

,350 




40 


5"" 


80 


076 


600 


23 


746 


000 


15 


990 


000 


95 


615 


532 


13 


774 


646 


69, 958 


305 


7 


185 


748 


I 


5"5 


871 


3 


797 


250 


2 


109 


517 




782 


807 


6 


441 


296 




55 


012 


31 
1 1 


183 

251 


■58 

740 




191 


736 


1 


247 


000 



200, 268 

25,090 

1 . 638 

311. ^^^ 

611,947 

202, 810 

412, 163, 000 

384, 724.043 

4. 333. 500 

327,410, 000 

500 

26, 000 

238,365.000 

66, 454, 000 

794, 000 

389, 642, 000 

180,933,011 



457,647,0551 2,398,886,257114,922.968 2,871,456,380 



CULTIVATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHFS 



25 



While the Bureau does not lay undue stress on mere numbers and con- 
siders the vitality of the fish and the conditions under which they are planted 
as of paramount importance, the foregoing figures are certainly very suggestive; 
and as a further statement of the magnitude of the fish-cultural work it may 
be of interest to record that the aggregate output of the hatcheries from 1872 
to 1908 was about 22,365,200,000, of which about 10,341,700,000 represents the 
work of the past five years. 




BUILDINGS AND REARING PONDS OF TROUT STATION AT SPEARFISH, SOUTH DAKOTA 

The first consideration in the distribution of fishes is to make ample return 
to the waters from which eggs or fish have been collected. The remainder of 
the product is consigned to suitable public or private waters. All applications 
for fish for private waters and many of those for public streams and lakes are 
transmitted through and receive the indorsement of a United States Senator 
or Representative. The fish are carried to their destination in railroad cars or 
by messengers who accompany the shipments in baggage cars. During the 
fiscal year 1907 the Bureau received 6,346 apphcations for fish, nearly all for 
game species. The demand, especially for the basses, crappies, and catfishes, 
is greater than can be met with present resources. 



26 



THR UNITED STATF;S BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



The supply of particular fishes available for distribution, and consequently 
the numljer allotted to individual applicants, is largely determined by the differ- 
ence in methods of hatching the different species and the present facilities 
therefor. The area and character of the water to be stocked must likewise be 
considered. The water area that would receive a million pike perch fry would 
perhaps be assigned no more than 200 or 300 black bass 3 or 4 inches long, or 
four to eight times that many if the bass were planted as fry. The explanation 
is in the fact that pike perch can be propagated by the hundred million, while 




INTERIOR OF A .TYPICAL.TROUT. HATCHERY 



black bass, hatched by other methods or collected from overflowed lands, can 
be produced only in comparatively small numbers. The Bureau does not 
attempt to assign any applicant more than a liberal brood stock of the basses 
or sunfishes. With brook trout, which are distributed both as fry and finger- 
lings, allotments of fry are many times larger than allotments of fingerlings 
3 to 4 inches long. 

Fishes arc distributed at various stages of development, according to the 
species, the numbers in the hatcheries, and the facilities for rearing. The com- 



CULTn'ATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES 27 

mercial fishes, hatched in lots of many mihions, are necessarily planted as fry. 
It is customary to distribute them just before the umbilical sac is completely 
absorbed. Atlantic salmon, land-locked salmon, and various species of trout, 
in such numbers as the hatchery facilities permit, are reared to fingerlings 
from I to 6 inches in length; the remainder are distributed as fry. The basses 
and sunfishes are distributed from the fish-cultural stations and ponds from 
some three weeks after they are hatched until they are several months of age. 




A FISH TRANSPORTATION CAR 



; of tliis kind ai 



lit use by the Bur 
incubiited while oi 



fish are ca 



When the last lots are shipped the basses usually range from 4 to 6 inches and 
the sunfishes from 2 to 4 inches in length. The numerous fishes collected in 
overflowed lands — basses, crappie, sunfishes, catfishes, yellow perch, and others — 
are 2 to 6 inches in length when taken and distributed. Eggs are distributed 
only to State hatcheries or to applicants who have hatchery facilities. 

The varying usage in the classification of young fish as to size has caused 
such confusion and difficulty that the Bureau has adopted the following uni- 



28 TIIK UNITED STATES HURRAU OK FISHERIES 

form definitions, which have been approved by the American Fisheries Society 
and represent the general sentiment of State and private fish-culturists : 

Fry — fish up to the time the yolk sac is absorbed and feeding begins. 

Advanced fry — fish from the end of the fry period until they have reached a 
length of • inch. 

Fingerlings — fish between the length of i inch and the yearling stage , the various 
sizes to be designated as follows: No. i , a fish i inch in length and up to 2 inches; 
No. 2, a fish 2 inches in lengtli and up to 3 inches; \o. p,. a fish 3 inches in length 
and up to 4 inches, etc. 

Yearlings — fish that are i year old, but less than 2 years old, from the date of 
hatching; these may be designated No. i , No. 2,No.3,etc., after the plan prescribed 
for fingerlings. 

Fish are delivered to applicants free of charge at tlie railroad station 
nearest the point of deposit, and for this purpose is maintained a special car 
and messenger service, which is one of the most important branches of the 
- / fisli-cultural work. In the early days baggage cars were employed, but these 
have now been supplanted by an equipment which not only affords more comfort 
to fish and attendants, but makes it possible to transport the fish much greater 
distances and with smaller percentage of loss. The cars, of which there are now 
6, are of standard size, and are attached to regular express and local passenger 
trains. Each car has 20 or more large water tanks along the sides in which to 
carry fish, compartments holding more than 1,000 gallons of reserve water, a 
boiler room, and a plant for pumping both water and air into the fish tanks. 
There are also an office, kitchen, pantries, refrigerator, and 6 Pullman sleeping 
berths, with other facilities for the convenience and comfort of the crew of 
5 men (including a cook) who live on the car throughout the year. The Gov- 
ernment furnishes the cook, fuel, and utensils, but the men provide their own 
food. For small shipments of fish and for supplying places ofi" the main railway 
lines messengers detached from the cars carry fish in lo-gallon cans in baggage cars. 
The distributions last year required travel amounting to 83,840 miles by the 
Bureau's 6 cars, and 263,196 miles by detached messengers — a total of 347,036 
miles — of which 11,826 for cars and 8o,Si6 for messengers were furnished by 
the railroads free of charge. 

There are few enterprises undertaken by the United States Government 

f 1 ,v/ 1 ^'^^t ^^^ more popular, meet with more general and 

Populanty of the Work , , , ^ -i . 1 ., ,1 

generous support, and have contrn)uted more to the 

prosperity and happiness of a larger number of people than its fish-cultural 

work, an evidence of which fact is afforded by the attitude and action of 

Congress. The comparatively large budget for the various branches of the 

Bureau's work is voted each year without an\- opposition whatever, and the 

api^ropriations are increasing yearly. When special needs arise and their merit 

is presented to Congress, special appropriations can usually be obtained; and 

(Tovernment fish-culture is so popular in the country at large and the demand 

for new hatcheries is so widespread that an extraordinary number of hatchery 



CULTIVATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES 29 

bills have been introduced and favorably considered in recent sessions of Con- 
gress. The Bureau advocates the building of new hatcheries as one of the best 
and most remunerative measures that can possibly be undertaken by the Fed- 
eral Government, but it rarely has to take the initiative, and on several occasions 
the establishment of a hatchery has been proposed by Congress before the 
necessity for it has actually developed. During each of the recent sessions of 
Congress, had all the bills providing for new hatcheries become laws the Bureau 




INTERIOR VIEW OF FISH TRANSPORTATION CAR 
cd tanks where fish arc carried, and Pullman sleeping berths f.. 



would have been seriously handicapped in designing and constructing the new 
buildings and ponds and in supplying competent persons to operate them. In 
the first session of the Sixtieth Congress, which began in December, 1907, and 
ended in May, 1908, there were introduced loi distinct bills, carrying an aggre- 
gate appropriation of $2,142,000 and providing for 74 hatcheries and 4 labora- 
tories in 43 States and Territories. 

While the manifold operations of the Bureau touch directlv or indirectly 
practically the entire population of the United States, they appeal with special 



30 



THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



force to the commercial fisherman, the fish dealer, the amateur angler, the 
student of aciuatic biology and physics, the owner of small ponds, lakes, or 
streams, and the professional cultivator of fishes, mollusks, and other water 
creatures. 

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY 

The first duties undertaken by the Bureau after its organization involved 
^ biological investigations, and the operations up to the present time have con- 




MARINE HATCHERY AND LABORATORY, WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS 

Kstablislied twcnty-tive years ago, and devoted to the culture of cod. flounders, and lobsters, the output of which in 1907-8 
was 337 millions. Also the headquarters of important biological investigations of the east -coast fauna, the labora- 
tory privileges being accorded gratuitously to qualified students. 

tinned to have a distinctly scientific basis. In making his original plans for 
the systematic investigation of the waters of the United States and the bio- 
logical and physical problems they present, Commissioner Baird insisted that 
to study only the food fishes would be of little importance, and that useful con- 
clusions must needs rest upon a broad foundation of investigations purely 
scientific in character. The life history of species of economic value should be 
understood from beginning to end, but no less rcciuisitc is it to know the his- 



SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY 



31 



tories of the animals and plants upon which they feed or upon which their food 
is nourished; the histories of their enemies and friends and the friends and foes 
of their enemies and friends, as well as the currents, temperatures, and other 
physical phenomena of the waters in relation to migration, reproduction, and 
growth. 

In jDursuancc of this policy the Bureau has secured the services of many 
prominent men of science, and much of the progress in the artificial propagation 




RESIDENCE AT THE MARINE STATION, WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Formerly the summer headquarters of the 
and by te: 



Bureau, and now occupied by the officials of the laboratu 
iporary assistants engaged in special work. 



of fishes, in the investigation of fishery problems, and in the extension of knowl- 
edge of our aquatic resources has been due to men eminent as zoologists who 
have been associated with the work temporarily. Among such men recently 
have been Alexander Agassiz, Hermon C. Bumpus, Gary N. Calkins, Bashford 
Dean, Charles H. Gilbert, Theodore Gill, C. Judson Herrick, Francis H. Herrick, 
David Starr Jordan, A. D. Mead, George H. Parker, Jacob Reighard, Henry B. 
Ward, William M. Wheeler, and Henry V. W^ilson. Their services have been 



32 



THK UXITKD STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



n 



the services of specialists for particular problems, and through them the Bureau 
has not only been able to give to the public the practical results of applied 
science, but has contributed to pure science valuable knowledge of all forms of 
aquatic life. 

The small permanent staff of the Bureau concerns itself more directlv with 
studies of fishes and their environment, with the conservation of diminishing 
commercial species, and the development of new or improved methods of increas- 
ing the supply. Such lines of work are undertaken as the need appears or as 
assistance is asked for, and keep the scientific assistants in the field for extended 




MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY AT BEAUFORT. NORTH CAROLINA 

This statiim. built in 1901. is favorably located for the study of the aquatic fauna of the southeast coast. The laboratory 
building is 174 feet long and 42 feet wide in the main portion, has a large museum and aquaria, and accommodates 
about 30 workers. Adjoining the laboratory building are a power plant and a mess house and kitchen. 

periods each year. The most important work in hand at present concerns 
aquatic products other than fishes — namely, oysters, fresh-water mussels, 
sponges, and the diamond-back terrapin, in all of which cases the problem is to 
find means to offset the results of long-continued overdraft upon the natural 
supplv. The Bureau has also the services of a fish pathologist — a position 
speciallv created by Congress at the solicitation of the Commissioner. This 
assistant has devoted most of his time to the study of diseases among fishes at 
the hatcheries of the Government and of various States, and has added greatly 
to the existing knowledge of the causes and prevention of many of the affections 
which often prove so serious in fishes under cultivation. His field includes also 
the investigation of conditions due to pollution of waters. 



SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY 33 

Two seaside laboratories are maintained by the Bureau for the prosecution 
of investigations in pure and apphed science. One of these is located at Woods 
Hole, Massachusetts, the scene of the first biological work undertaken after the 
establishment of the Bureau. It was built in 1883, and is in conjunction with 
a marine fish hatchery. Here also are extensive wharves, at which the largest 
vessels may lie, and protected harbors for small craft. A large residence build- 
ing at this station was for a number of years occupied as the summer head- 
quarters of the Bureau, the entire executive and oflfice force being transferred 
from Washington. The other laboratory is situated on a small island near Beau- 
fort, North Carolina, and was constructed in 1901. The land for both of these 
stations was donated by private individuals. In addition to their function in 
the investigations of the Bureau itself, these laboratories are open to the public 
for study and scientific research. Students and professors in colleges and any 
other qualified investigators may have the facilities of the laboratories upon 
request, and these opportunities are largely availed of each year. 

For the survey of offshore fishing grounds, the study of pelagic fishes, and 
the general exploration of the seas, the Bureau has had, since 1882, the steamer 
Albatross, which was specially designed and built for this work and has con- 
tributed more to the knowledge of the life and physics of the sea than any other 
vessel. The Albatross is a twin-screw iron steamer, rigged as a brigantine, of 
1 ,074 tons displacement and 384 net tonnage, and was built at a cost of $190,000, 
including original equipment. The complement of officers and men, numbering 
about 80, is furnished by the Navy; there is in addition a small civilian staff, 
including a resident naturalist and a fishery expert, to whom the practical work 
of the ship is intrusted. After spending several years in the investigation of 
the fishing grounds of the Atlantic coast of North America, the Albatross was 
dispatched to the Pacific Ocean in 1888 and has since confined her operations 
to those waters. The vessel has made three extended cruises to the southern 
and eastern parts of the Pacific, several cruises to the Hawaiian Islands and 
Japan, and many visits to Alaska, in addition to numerous surveys on the coast 
of the Pacific States, all having for their object the investigation of the physics 
and biology of the regions visited, the determination of their aquatic resources, 
and the study of their fisheries. In 1 907 the vessel began a biological survey of the 
waters of the Philippine Archipelago, and is now engaged on that work. The 
deepest sounding made by the Albatross — near the island of Guam — was 4,813 
fathoms; the greatest depth at which the vessel found life was 4,173 fathoms; 
the greatest known ocean depth is 5,269 fathoms, near Guam, ascertained by 
the U. S. S. Nero while using Albatross apparatus. 

55778— oS 3 



34 



THE UNITED STATES RUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Work similar to that done by the Albatross is conducted by the steamer 
Fish Hawk on the Atlantic coast. This vessel, built for the Bureau in the 
winter of 1879-80, is of 441 gross tons burden, and has a naval crew of 45 men; 
it is equipped for sounding and dredging, and has recently been employed 
chiefly in the exploration of the coastal waters and inshore fishing grounds of 
New lingland while attached to the laboratory at Woods Hole. The vessel is 
convertible into a hatchery, and has been engaged in the hatching of shad and 
other fishes along the entire coast from Maine to Texas. 




TRIAL FISHING ON THE ALBATROSS 



This experimental catch of cod and halibnt i 



s taken in twenty minutes by the .\lbatross wliile explo 
off the coast of Ahiska. 



The Bureau's large collections of natural -history specimens are deposited 
in the United States National Museum. The duplicates, however, are not 
retained for Government purposes, but are distributed upon request to public 
schools and colleges. In this way hundreds of thousands of specimens represent- 
ing all groups of aquatic animals have been supplied for educational purposes. 



36 



THE I'NITKD STATES lU'REAl" OF FISHERIES 



STATISTICS AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES 

The first duty to which the Bureau of Fisheries was assigned, namely, the 
investigation of the reported decrease of food fishes in New England, necessarily 
involved the collection of statistics of production, personnel, and capital. 
Since that time this branch of the work has been conducted without interruption, 
and in it have naturally been included the various other subjects affecting 
the economic and commercial aspects of the fisheries. Among its functions 




FISHING A NEW ENGLAND POUND-NET 



are (i) a general survev of the commercial fisheries of the country; (2) a study 
of the fishery grounds with reference to their extent, resources, yield, and con- 
dition ; (3) a study of the vessels and boats employed in the fisheries, with special 
reference to their improvement ; (4) a determination of the utility and effect of 
the apparatus of capture employed in each fishery; (5) a study of the methods 
of fishing, for the special purpose of suggesting improvements or of discovering 
till' use of unprofitable or unnecessarily destructive methods; (6) an inquiry 
into the methods of utilizing fishery products, the means and methods of trans- 
portation, and the extent and condition of the wholesale trade; (7) a census of 
the fishing population, their economic and hygienic condition, nativity, and 



STATISTICS AND METHODS OF TH?: FISHERIES 



37 



citizenship; (8) a studv of international questions affecting the fisheries; (9) the 
prosecution of inquiries regarding the fishing apparatus and methods of foreign 
countries. 




The mackerel schooners ar 
market for the catch, 
yield of mackerel on o 
unprecedented abundr 



MACKEREL VESSELS AT A BOSTON DOCK 

! among the fastest and handsomest vessels of the Atlantic coast, and Boston is the principa. 

Fishing is done chiefly with purse seines, to manage -which large crews are required. The 

ir coast has been uninterruptedly small for twenty-two years, preceded by a period of almost 



The coUection of statistics of the commercial fisheries and the industries 
dependent thereon constitutes the major part of this work. The information 
is required in great detail, and is obtained by the personal inquiries of a 



^ 



38 



Till-: TNITRD STATKS Hl'RF.Ar OK FISHERIES 



small corps of agents, who visit all the fishing communities and interview 
fishermen, fish dealers, vessel owners, factory proprietors, and others. While 
the Bureau is not authorized by law to enforce demands for data, it very rarelv 
happens that information is refused; on the contrary, the objects and value of 
the work being now well understood, many thousands of fishermen keep accurate 
records for the special use of the Bureau, and dealers, transportation companies, 
prcparators, etc., permit free access to their books. 

The relatively small force available for the collection of statistics, the magni- 
tude of the territory to be covered, and the extent of the fisheries prevent the 
canvass of more than one section of the country during one season; and it has 
been found impossible to cover the entire coastwise and interior fisheries oftener 
than once in four or five years. Herewith are the latest available statistics 
gathered by the Bureau for the general fishing industry. These figures show 
that 219,534 persons were engaged in the fisheries, $94,254,839 were invested 
in vessels, boats, apparatus, and other property, and the products had a value 
of $61,047,909. 

Statement of the Persons Engaged and the Capital Invested in the Fisheries of the 

United States. 



Persons emiiloyed 

Vessels fishing 

Tonnage - 

Outfit-.- 
Vessels transporting 

Tonnage 

Outfit. -- 

Boats 

Seines 

Gill nets and Iraniiiul ntis 
Pound nets, trap nets, and weirs. _ 

Fyke nets . . . 

Beam trawls and paranzcllas 

Wheels and slides 

Eel and lobster pots . _ 

Dredges, tongs, rakes, scrajjes, etc. 

Lines.. 

Other apparatus _ 

Shore and accessory property 

Cash capital. 



Atlantic and Gulf States. 
Number. | Value. 



Pacific Coast States and Alaska. 



161,923 

4.584 
85.43:^ 



1,686 



29. 



Total 



61,489 

3,888 

143. 824 

7.384 

19.033 

66 

37 
228,086 



$8, 170,256 

3, 006, 425 
1,847,469 

29.S. 257 

3, 981, 761 

5M- 227 

782,338 

I . 540, 83s 

94, 180 

I, 696 

775 

248. 974 

4ii.4-'4 

347.079 

.S5. 347 

20,571, 131 

15.013.676 



121 


$621,017 


8,250 






289, 897 




334 


2,771.022 


62, 255 









>o. I. 55 

77^ 

8,611 

680 

446 

41 

49 



68, 055 

I, 528,91 1 

282, 244 

1,095. 282 

1,444,510 

4, 610 

6.371 

168, fXX) 



7. 131 

44.421 

45.075 

10,473.781 

7,205,650 



$56, 902, 850 



$26,055,977 



STATISTICS AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES 



39 



Statement of the Persons Engaced and the Capital Invested in the Fisheries of the 
Unitkd States — Continued. 



Persons employed 

Vessels fishing 

Tonnage - 

Outfit 

Vessels transporting 

Tonnage 

Outfit 

Boats.. - 

Seines , 

Gill nets and trammel nets 

Pound nets, trap nets, and weirs. _ 

Fyke nets 

Beam trawls and paranzellas 

Wheels and slides 

Eel and lobster pots 

Dredges, tongs, rakes, scrapes, etc. 

Lines 

Other apparatus 

Shore and accessory property 

Cash capital 



Great Lakes and interior waters. 



25,201 

194 

3,506 



500 



12, 156 

992 

102, 604 

4,848 

40, 7-24 
4 



Total. 



S634. 450 



402 
400 



529 
76 
657 
617 
261 



154 
766 
612 
804 
063 
379 



219.534 

4.899 

97, 188 



2,038 
92,492 



480 





13 


683 




24 


994 




16 


215 


4,809 


022 


3 


429 


588 



$1 1, 296, 012 



83, 800 

5,652. 

255.039 

12,912 

60, 203 

107 

90 

228,086 



3,443.724 
4,687, 891 



371,466 

6, 040, 438 

893, 083 

2,535,424 

3, 602, 408 

360, 169 

8,067 

169, 255 

248, 974 

432,238 

416,494 

116,637 

35,853.934 

25,648,914 



i 254, 839 



Note. — The years to which these figures pertain are 1905 for New England, 1904 for the Middle 
Atlantic States, 1902 for the South Atlantic and Gulf States, 1904 for the Pacific States, 1907 for 
Alaska, 1903 for all interior waters. 

Statement of the Products of the Fisheries of the United States. 





Atlantic and Gulf States. 


Pacific States and Alaska. 




Pounds. 


Value. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Fishes: 


52,061,580 

35,435 

I. 201, 135 

16, 575, 661 
1,019,032 
3,006, 610 
4, 184,363 
5,252,858 

77,498,674 


S473, 811 

1.253 

90,956 

781,802 

41,818 

26,556 

138,761 

168, 102 

2, lOI, I 19 








2,1^9,282 $51,820 






Bluefish . 






212,062 3,075 


Buffalo-fish 




Butterfish 


i 


Catfish . . - 


923, 144 
7.694.944 




Cod 


193,966 



1 



40 TIIK UNITKD STATES BURF.Ati OF FISHF.RIF.S 

Statement of the Products of the Fisheries of the United States — Continued 



Fishes — Continued. 
Cra|)])y and stravv1)erry bass . 

Croaker _ _ 

Cusk„._. 

Drum, fresh-vvattr 

Drum, salt-walcr 

Eels 

Flounders 

German carp 

Haddock- _ 

Hakes. . _ 

Halibut 

Herrings 

Mackerel 

Menhaden 

Mullets 

Perch, while- 
Perch, yellow_ 

Pike perches 

Pike and pickerel _ 

Pollock 

Pompano 
Rocklish - 

Salmons 

Scup 

Sea bass 

Shads 

Sheepsheacl 
Silver hake 

Smelts 

Snapper, red 

.Snappers, other 
Si)anish mackerel 

Spot 

Squeteagues 

Striped bass 

Sturgeons 

Suckers 

Sunfishes- 
Swordfish- 

Tautog 

Trouts 



Atlantic and Gulf States. 


Pacific States and Alaska. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


253, 506 


$7, 154 
138,931 






6,910,903 


'21. 34" 


S3, '45 


9, 079, 866 


'39.964 






5.550 


■31 






4, 063, 230 


'09,055 






3, 636, 964 


212, 160 






9, 676, 172 


290, 186 


8,418, 145 


155, .SI 2 


1,328,271 


78, 778 


9'>. 374 


1. 607 


77.065,441 


'■258,763 






35.938,627 


419,384 






3. 7>5.776 


237,876 


12, 091 , <)()() 


358, 930 


83. 390, 554 


692, 854 


4,455,729 


35.407 


16,323,612 


I, 106, 741 


134,992 


3. 666 


562, 427,449 








4'. 734. 178 


709, 067 


'2,952 


423 


-^ 674. 763 


160,875 






587, 885 


25.547 






31,200 


■ . 505 






■54.359 


'0,045 






39. 033. 093 


305,436 






876, 305 


56, 905 


a, 850 


4. 502 






1 , 896, 467 
267.389,335 


63, 409 
12,589,958 


86, 368 


20, 161 




250, 320 
183, 219 






4.282,313 






28,065, 130 


1,688,352 


489. 505 


'3. 146 


2, 634, 046 


68, 060 






5.549.935 


37, 866 






628, 860 


69, 710 


2.762,202 


79- 973 




418,360 

11,419 

160, 270 










2,965.381 


708, 465 


11, 7.14 


2, 023,476 








43. 794. 980 


1.233,959 


988,524 


31.548 


2,601,354 


259, 926 


1,570,404 


92. 1 16 


1.475.925 


137,3" 


'37,981 


4. 271 










751.655 


'8,757 


1 1 , 343 


554 


.-,,311,369 


205, 567 








28, 298 







STATISTICS AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES 
Statement of the Products op the Fisheries of the United States— Continued. 



41 



Fishes — Continued. 

Whiting and kingfish 

Other fish 

Fish oil 

MoUusks: 

Abalone 

Clams, hard-shell. 

Clams, soft-shell and other 

Cockles, winkles, conchs, etc. 

Mussels 

Oysters 

Oyster and other s'.iells 

Scallops 

Squid - - - 

Crustaceans : 

Crabs - 

Crawfish 

King crabs - 

Lobster 

Shrimp and prav\ n , 

Shrimp shells - 

Spiny lobsters 

Reptiles and batrachians: 

Alligator hides 

Frogs 

Terrapins and turtles 

Mammals; 

Fur-seal pelts 

Hair-seal pelts 

Otter pelts . - . 

Whalebone . 

Whale oil 

'Ambergris 

Sea -elephant oil 

Sea-elephant skins 

Walrus products 

Minor products 

Miscellaneous: 

Sponges 

Seaweeds 

All other products . 

Total 



Atlantic and Gulf States. 



178,650 

^45.417 

^6,325 



$56. 107 

Jio, 136 

856 



Pacific States and Alaska. 



8, 193. 844 

8, 130.430 

93. 734 

1,551. 850 

215, 1:51,914 

19.975. "5 

1.586, 151 

I, 119,369 



1,320,364 

543.7^^ 

13.510 

6, 705 

17,417,581 

20,488 

297, 658 

17.307 



34. 137.937 


723.845 


71,664 


3. 897 


2, 303, 000 


8, 903 


11,898, 136 


1.364. 7-; I 


16, 186, 905 


288, 344 



349.927 

9, 210 
856, 936 



40. 779 

I, 289 

94. 586 



3. 283 

55.950 

3.933.554 

94 

590, 625 

5,000 



18,367 

193.037 

246.565 

16, 900 

25.000 

600 



346, 889 

841, 000 

2,886,040 



364, 422 
34. 120 
39.926 



3,748,766 )f74. 186 

718, 837 19, 191 

824,948 I 9, 155 

871,008 I 65,078 

308, 080 , 30, 280 

28,215 1.764 

2,665,696 1,031,523 

8,730 ' 218 



25 1 . 360 


10, U54 


6, 081, 606 


181, 904 


187, 200 


12,480 





1,3". 750 I 93.544 

950, 000 4, 390 

1,078,065 43,406 



28,095 

92, 364 

75,417 

3,562 

120, 191 

408, 419 



8,749 
7.575 



59,320 
198,589 



1,512,283,708 



2,010 336,521,752 



484, 649 
13.354 
16, 703 

529.614 
20, 796 



2,267 
34. 380 



$16,553,301 



j!^^ 



42 THK UXITKD STATES lU'REAl' OK FISHKRIKS 

Statement op the Products of the Fisheries ov the United States — Continued. 



Kishes: 

Alewives 

Barracudas- 
Black basses.. 

Bluefish 

Bonito 

Buffalo-fish.. 

Butterfisli 

Catfish 

Cod 



Crappy and strawberry bass . 

Croaker. 

Cusk 



Drum, fresh-water. 
Drum, salt-water... 

Eels 

Flounders 

German carp 

Haddock-. 

Hakes 



Halibut 

Herrings 

Herring, lake 

Mackerel 

Menhaden 

Mullets 

Paddlefish 

Perch, white 

Perch, yellow 

Pike perches 

Pike and ])ickerel. 

Pollock 

Ponipano 

Rockfish 

Salmons 

Soup 



Sea bass 

Shads 

Sheepshead. 
Silver hake. 
Smelts 



Great Lakes and interior waters. 



644, 936 



6,542,001 



I, 143, 800 



178,952 



1.432.257 



6, 492, 885 

10, 868, 404 

I, 296, 911 



125,858 



8.750 



23, 600 



$56, 605 



3 '3, 841 
336. 135 



54. 034 



87,810 

1 1 , 409 

361,870 



816,046 



53.565 



156,727 

456,470 

69.677 



5.629 



875 



52, 061, 580 

■;. "94,717 

"■939,571 

16, 575, 661 

1 , 23 1 , 094 

"4,534. "4" 
4, 184,363 
12,718,003 
85, 193,618 
".397,306 
7.032,243 
9, 079, 866 
3,512,881 
4, 063, 230 

3, 81 s, 916 
18,094,317 
18,942,763 
77,065,441 
35,928,627 
15, 806, 776 
87, 846, 283 
32, 177,689 
16,458, 604 

562,427,449 

41, 747, 130 

1,432, 257 

2, 674, 763 

10, 899, 604 

I, 451 , 270 

29, 033, 093 

9"o, "55 

1, 896, 467 

267, 601, 561 

9. 216, 731 

4, 282,313 
28,563,385 

2,634,046 

5,549,935 
3,414,662 



S473, 811 

53,073 

150,471 

781,802 

44, 893 

340, 397 

138.761 

531.529 

2,295,085 

61, 188 
142, 076 
139,964 

87.941 

109.055 

223,569 

445, 698 

442, 255 

1,258,763 

419.384 

596, 806 

728,261 

816,046 

1, 1 10, 407 

1,452,062 

709, 490 

53, 565 
160,875 
182, 274 
457.975 

79.722 
305.436 

61,407 

63, 409 

12,615,748 

250, 320 

183,219 

1,702,373 

68, 060 

37, 866 
152.403 



STATISTICS AND MKTHODS OF THE FISHERIES 43 

Statement of the Products of the Fisheries of the United States — Continued. 



Great Lakes and interior waters. 



Fishes — Continued. 

Snapper, red 

Snappers, other. _ 
Spanish mackereL 



Spot_ 



Squeteagues 

Striped bass 

Sturgeons 

Suckers 

Sunfishes 

Swordfish 

Tautog 

Trouts 

Whitefish 

Whiting and kingfish 

Other fish 

Fish oil 

Mollusks: 

Abalone 

Clams, hard-shell 

Clams, soft-shell and other , _ 
Cockles, winkles, conchs, etc 

Mussels 

Mussel shells 

Oysters 

Oyster and other shells 

Scallops__ _ 



Squid, 



Crustaceans: 

Crabs 

Crawfish 

King crabs 

Lobster 

Shrimp and prawn 

Shrimp shells 

Spiny lobsters 

Reptiles and batrachians: 

Alligator hides 

Frogs 

Terrapins and turtles. _. 



1,647,306 $91,372 
9, 087, 213 178, 940 
I. 325. 521 : 33. 295 



17, 069, 284 
7,728,761 



1,657,805 



51,856,430 



244, 464 



190, 884 



336, 049 
524, 283 



951,864 
350, 186 



7.897 



24, 7»» 
17, 292 



13.763.653 
401.349 

3. 673. 846 
2,023,476 

44. 783. 504 

4. 171.758 
3,261,212 
9.538,639 
2,088,519 
3.311,369 

847, 756 

20, 158,954 

7,728,761 

1, 178, 650 
13,651,988 

745, 162 

824, 948 

9, 064, 852 

8,438,510 

93. 734 

1,580,065 

51.856,430 

217, 787, 610 

19,983,845 

1.586, 151 

1.370,729 

40.219,543 
503.328 

2, 303, 000 
11,898, 136 
17.689,539 

950, 000 
I, 078, 065 

349.927 

345. 259 

1,409.314 



$418,360 

11,419 
171,974 

65.759 

1,265,507 

352,042 

232,954 

196, 304 

52,606 
205,567 

28, 298 

I, 081, 117 

350, 186 

56, 107 
313,835 

20, 047 

9. 155 

1.385.442 

574.002 

13.510 

8,469 

530,098 

t8,449, 104 

20, 706 

297. 658 

27.361 

905.749 

24, 274 

8,903 

1,364.721 

393, 696 

4,390 

43,406 

40. 779 
26,077 
114,494 



4 



44 TIIK I'NITF.n STATKS lU'REAU OF FISHKRIF.S 

Statement of the Products of the Fisheries of the United States — Continued. 



Mummals: 

l'"ur-seal pelts 

Hair-seal pelts_ . 

Otter pelts 

Whalebone 

Whale oil 

Ambergris 

Sea-elephant oil 

Sea-elephant skins- 
Walrus products- - 
Minor products 

Miscellaneous: 

Sponges 

Seaweeds 

All other products 

Total 



Great Lakes and interior waters. 
Pounds. Value. 



Total. 



$40 



9^. .S64 

7.5.417 

6, 861 

176, 141 

4. .HI. 973 

94 

590, 625 

T , 000 

8,749 

7.57,S 

346, 889 

900, 320 

4, 108, 829 



S484, 649 

13,354 

3.5. 1 10 

7-':!, 651 

267, 361 

16, 900 

25, 000 

600 

5.771 

7.791 

,^64. 4^^ 
.^6. 387 
76.398 



185, 187, 239 $5,012,598 2,033,992,699 $61,047,909 



Supplementary Tarlk SnowrNr; Certain of the Above Products in Bushels, Gallons, and 

Number. 



Clams, hard-shell 

Clams, soft -shell and oilier 

Mussels 

Oysters 

Oyster and other shells " 

Scallops 

Cockles and'winkles. . . 

Oil, fish 

whale . - 

sea-elephant 

Fur-seal pelts 

Alligator hides 

Otter skins 



liusliels- _ 

. . do 

...do 

...do-.-. 

...do 

...do.... 

do ... 
-Lillons _ 

d.i 

(In . ._ 
nuinl)er_ . 

do.... 
. do . 



843 

48 

31. 112, 

264, 
9. 
99. 
578, 
78, 
15, 
70, 
4. 



106 

851 
946 
515 
910 
358 
400 
375 
930 
7.SO 
394 
410 

537 



" Exclusive of torld 



and inus.scl sliells 



STATISTICS AND MKTHODS OF THE FISHRRIKS 



45 



The two most important fishing ports on the Atlantic coast are Boston 
and Gloucester, from which places upward of 433 vessels, of 24,000 net tonnage, 
valued at $2,150,000 and carrving over 6,000 men, arc employed in the fisheries. 




The daily arrival, unloading, baiting, 



A BUSY DAY AT T WHARF, BOSTON 



flitting, and departure of the fresh-fish fle 
and interesting spots in Boston. 



akc T Wharf < 



Most of the vessels are schooner rigged, and engaged in fishing on the high seas 
or on the "banks" lying off the United States and the British provinces. In 
the yearjjigoy about 200,000,000 pounds of fish, having a first value of over 



^ 



46 THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OE FISHERIES 

$5,250,000, were landed in the ports named. For the purpose of keeping in 
close touch with the condition and extent of these fisheries, which afford a good 
criterion of the New England fisheries as a whole, two local agents are employed 
to collect daily statistics of receipts, and this information is incorporated into 
a special bulletin issued monthly and widely distributed to the trade. It is the 
expectation that this local statistical sersice will be extended to other important 
centers. 

The Bureau has conducted several investigations of the fisheries of the 
Hawaiian Islands and Porto Rico, and is now engaged in a study of the fisheries 
of the Philippine Islands. The latest information obtained gives the following 
figures for Hawaii and Porto Rico; for the Philippines no complete data are 
available, but it is estimated that the industry yields annually products to the 
value of $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. 



Persons engaged in fishing 

Value of vessels, boats, and apparatus eniployed___ 

Quantity of catch (pounds) 

Value of catch. 



Hawaii 


Porto Rico 


(1903). 


(1902). 


3.241 


748 


$309,217 


S35. 826 


6.972,735 


2, i6g, 770 


$677, 897 


$106,022 



ALASKA SALMON-INSPECTION SERVICE 

The fishing interests in Alaska, representing an investment of §9,000,000 
and yielding last year a product valued at more than $10,000,000, have received 
especial attention from the Government ever since the Territory was acquired, in 
ISO;. The seal fisheries, at first considered the most valuable sources of rev- 
enue, were at once placed under protective legislation. Later there appeared 
a similar need of regulation of the salmon fisheries, which have now come to 
support industries many times more valuable than the seal fisheries and stand- 
ing in large proportion to the total fishing interests of the whole I'nited States. 
The Alaska salmon-inspection service has thus grown to be one of the most 
important branches of Government fishery work, and it is one of the few 
instances where the Government has assumed legislative powers over fishing. 

Supervision of the salmon fisheries, as of the seal, was at first given to the 
Treasury Department, and it remained under that jurisdiction until 1903, when 
it was transferred to the Department of Commerce and Labor, by which it is 
administered through the Bureau of Fisheries. There are three agents in this 
field, whose duty it is to inquire into the methods by which fish are caught, 
prepared, and marketed, and into the conditions of supply, to report thereon 
and recommend legislation, and to enforce existing laws. For these purposes 



ALASKA SALMON-INSPECTION SERVICE 



47 



the entire region is canvassed every year, the agents remaining on the ground 
throughout the fishing season, from June to September. 

The protection of the Alaska salmon fisheries has been a difficult problem. 
The unheard-of magnitude of the resources invited a corresponding recklessness 
and improvidence. As the canning industry developed, every device that could 
be used for wholesale capture of fish was put into operation, and gradually all 
of the favorite streams of the salmon became so blocked with seines, gill nets, 
traps, and barricades that but a small proportion of the fish could find passage 
to the spawning grounds, and the future supply was thus most seriously endan- 




SALMON TRAP IN AN ALASKAN RIVER 



extensively used in tli 
;. The largest traps ha 



Bristol Has 
' leaders mr 



egion. and takes immense 
than half a mile li.ng. and • 



gered. The Alaskan aborigines likewise conducted their fishing in a very destruc- 
tive way, often placing impassable barriers in streams up which salmon were 
running, and, through ignorance or indifference, leaving the obstructions in place 
after the full supply of fish had been secured. It was soon apparent that the 
laws and regulations were inadequate to meet the special conditions pre- 
vailing, and were of such a nature as to make their enforcement very difficult. 
In 1903 a special commission was appointed to make exhaustive study of 
the natural history of the salmons of Alaska and to submit recommendations for 
an improved regulation of the fisheries. As a result a new code of laws is now 



48 



THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OE FISHERIES 



in effect and promises to prevent the threatened decHne in these enormous indus- 
tries. Witli increased restrictions as to fishing methods, obstructions in streams, 
close seasons, etc., the Department of Commerce and Labor is empowered to 
set aside any streams as spawning preserves whenever such course shall be desir- 
able, all fishing in such waters to be prohibited. A license tax is required on 
all salmon products; from the payment of this tax, however, all canning and 




NATIVE METHOD OF SETTING GILL NETS, ALASKA 
Tlu- llc-ts iir>- si-1 llnis .111 the sll.irc- ..f NuslKiuak Hay, and at l.nv lidu art- kit tlltirtiv hari-. 

salting establislnnents are exempted upon condition of t^eir returning young 
salmon to the streams in the ratio of i,ooo fry to every i-o cases of salmon 
canned. Three private hatcheries, representing extensive canning interests, 
were in operation in 1907 and liberated a total of 119,000,000 young fish. The 
Government itself has undertaken extensive hatchery work, having now in oper- 
ation a station at Yes Lake established in 1905 and one at Afognak Bay just 
completed. In tlie two years of its operations the Yes Bay hatchery has 
produced and liberated over 61,000,000 salmon fry. 



ALASKA SALMON-INSPECTION SERVICE 49 

The seal and salmon fisheries have hitherto overshadowed all other aquatic 
resources in Alaska, not only in commercial value but in revenue to the Gov- 
ernment. The rental from the fur-seal islands alone has more than repaid the 
purchase price of the Territory, and the tax derived from the salmon fisheries 
now amounts to about $90,000 a year. Some long-neglected products are gradu- 
ally coming into importance, however, and the cod, halibut, and herring fisheries 




ALASKAN FISH TRAPS AND RUNS 
Used by natives on Chilkoot Stream for obtaining their winter supply of salmon. 

especially have undergone remarkable development in the last few years. Since 
it became a part of the United States, Alaska has yielded fishery products 
amounting in value to $158,000,000, of which about $49,000,000 was derived 
from fur seals, $86,000,000 from salmon, and the remaining $23,000,000 from 
all other acjuatic products. The sum paid by the United States to Russia for 
the Territory of Alaska was only $7,200,000. 

55778— oS 4 



5° 



Till': UXITKI) STATKS liURKAT OF FISHERIES 



RELATIONS WITH THE STATES AND WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES 

From tho ht'i^iiinini; of its career the Bureau has maintained cordial rela- 
tions with tlie tisiiery authorities of the various States. The policy has been 
to aid and supplement, never to supplant, the work of the .States; and the 
field is so large and the objects in view have such importance and conunon 
interest that there should never arise cause for unfriendly rivalry. The coop- 
eration in lish cultural, bioloj^ical, and fishery work has been extensive. 




WHITEFISH AND PIKE-PERCH HATCHERY AT PUT-IN BAY, LAKE ERIE, OHIO 
The .iKgrcgate output of this station in 1907-8 was over 564 niilliun \inii'g tisli. besides 7.; niillici 



Twenty-seven of the States have hatcheries of their own, and to any of these 
the Bureau transfers eggs and fry when they are available and desired. This 
policy is not only an aid to the State work, but facilitates the hatching by 
relieving congestion at the C>overnmcnt stations, and it also permits the most 
judicious planting of the fish. The Bureau has in a number of cases taken over 
and operated hatcheries owned by the States, and in others the egg collections 
are made conjointly. In the Pacific salmon work there was for years coopera- 
tion between the California Fish Commission and the Bureau, and much of the 
whitefish and pike perch work on Lake Erie has been done by the Bureau work- 
ing with the States of Ohio and Pennsylvania. 



RKLATIOXS WITH STATKS AND KORRIGN COUNTRIES 



51 



In the vStates that have no means for undertaking the fish-cultural work 
the Government is looked to for the stocking of both public and private waters; 
and, for that matter, the Bureau distributes young fish to applicants in all 
States without distinction. In the introduction of nonindigenous fishes, how- 
ever, the Bureau responds to applications only with the approval of State 
authorities. The evil that may result from the indiscriminate planting of 




The arrangement of the ja 



PART OF INTERIOR OF PUT-IN BA 
in the form of a ' liattcry " cconomizL's 



HATCHERY 

ice and facilitat 



rdling of eggs and fry. 



new fishes, especially the predaceous species, is obvious, but as it is not gen- 
erally recognized by applicants that the popular black basses and trouts, for 
instance, do not dwell together in amity, full precaution is taken to secure 
requisite information before the fish are supplied. 

The extent of Government aid to State hatchery work may be judged from 
the following table, showing the numbers of eggs consigned gratis to State fish 
commissions during the year ended June 30, 1908. 



THK rxiTEU STATES lU'REAU OK FISHERIES 
Allotments of Eggs to State Fish Commissions, Fiscal Year 1908. 



Statb and Species. 



California; Cliinonk saliTion___ 

Colorado: 

Black-spotted trout 

Lake trout 

Idaho: Brook trout 

Illinois: Pike perch 

Maine: 

Landlocked salmon 

Wliile perch 

Maryland: 

Rainliow trout 

Yellow ]iereh 

Massachusetts: Rainliow trout.. 

Michigan: 

Landlocked salmon 

Lake trout 

Pike perch 

Missouri: 

Brook trout 

C.ra ylinj; 

Pike perch 

Nevada: 

Lake trout 

Brook trout 

New Hani])shire: 

Chinook salmon 

Lake trout 

New York: 

Whitcfish 

Landlocked salmon 



Number of eggs. 



68,647,550 

125, 000 

50, 000 

1 00, 000 

25, 000, 000 

100, 000 
700, 000 

150, 000 

2, 080, 000 
15,000 

10, 000 

500, 000 

43, 000, 000 

100, 000 

50, 000 

5, 000, 000 

100, 000 
200, 000 

100, 000 
504, 000 

15, 000, 000 
20, 000 



State and Species. 



New York — Continued. 
Lake trout 

Ohio: 

Whitefish 

Lake cisco 

Oregon: Chinook salmon. 

Pennsylvania : 

Whitefish 

Lake cisco 

Silver salmon 

Black -spotted trout. 

Lake trout 

Pike perch 

Utah: Rainbow trout 

Vermont : 

Lake trout 

Brook trout 

Wisconsin : 

Whitefish 

Steelhead trout 

Rainbow trout 

Grayling 

Wyoming: 

Steelhead trout 

Black -spotted trout- 
Lake trout 

Grayling 



Total. 



Number of eggs. 





300, 


000 


" 3<>, 


906, 


000 


a 2 


070, 


000 


1 


485, 


000 


676 


860, 


000 


10 


720, 


000 




100 


000 




126 


000 




500 


000 


6144 


725 


000 




50 


000 




300 


000 




84 


500 


15 


000 


000 




50 


000 




100 


000 




50 


000 




20 


000 




63 


000 




50 


000 




,SO 


000 


440 


161 


050 



.' The Ohio iMsh Commission cooperated by furnishing a vessel and crew, and defrayed the expenses of collecting 
these eggs. 

l>The Pennsylvania risli Commission contributed the cost of collecting these eggs. 

In addition to the eggs distributed as above, 3,500,000 yellow-perch fry 
were consigned to Connecticut and 1,475,000 lobster fry to Massachusetts; 
and of rainbow-trout fingerlings, yearlings, and adults, 44,800 were donated to 
.Maryland and 5,000 to Nebraska. 

The oyster-producing States more than any others have asked for the 
assistance of the Bureau's scientific staff. In Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, 
Maryland, .\ortli Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas extensive surYeys have 



PUBLICATIONS. 53 

been made or are being made, the oyster grounds charted, biological and phys- 
ical conditions studied, and the path to successful cultivation pointed out. In 
North Carolina the declining shad fishery was recently investigated in both its 
natural history and statistical aspects by the Bureau at the request of the 
State authorities. State hatcheries have frequently called for aid in the study 
and treatment of epidemics among the fry and young fish. The results achieved 
in these various instances will be referred to elsewhere. 

International courtesy has prompted the donation of American fish eggs 
to foreign governments, and the hardiness of such eggs and the facility with 
which they may be transported out of water for long distances have resulted 
in the establishment of some of the best of our food and game fishes in distant 
lands. Thus the brook trout and other American salmonoids are now thriving 
in Argentina; the brook trout, the rainbow trout, and the black bass are widely 
distributed in Europe; the rainbow and brook trouts are found in several 
Japanese lakes; and some of the finest trout fishing in the world is afforded 
by the rainbow trout in New Zealand, where also the chinook salmon, the 
blueback salmon, and various other American fishes are now flourishing. Dur- 
ing the past year about 4,000,000 eggs of salmons and trouts were shipped 
aljroad. When the Bureau is unable to supply such requests from its own 
stock, it acts as agent in the purchase from private fish-cultural establishments, 
supervising the packing and the transportation to the point of embarkation. 

PUBLICATIONS 

The 65 large volumes which represent the United States Bureau of Fish- 
eries on library shelves are not the mere routine report or annual statement of 
funds disbursed and duties discharged. The scientific study and the practical 
experiment which are the foundation of the Bureau's work yield results of 
manifold interest and far-reaching significance, and such results are corre- 
spondingly fruitful of discussion. The dissemination of the knowledge they 
afford is, moreover, a recognized function for which the periodical document 
issue is the established medium. The subject-matter of these volumes is thus 
coextensive with the scope of the operations of the Bureau — it is biological, 
fish-cultural, and commercial, treated from standpoints both technical and 
economic. The names of J. A. Allen, Baird, Bean, Bumpus, Dean, Farlow, 
Forbes, Gill, Gilbert, Goode, Jordan, Rathbun, Ryder, Verrill, and numbers 
of other well-known biologists give the publications authority in science; and 
the reports of Baird, again, and the pioneers, Atkins, Clark, Green, Hessel, 
McDonald, and Stone, and their successors, constitute practically a history of 
fish culture in America. The Manual of Fish Culture, first issued in 1897 and 
revised in 1900, is yet the only publication in English covering that subject. 
The seven-volume "Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States," 



54 'I'l"' rXITED STATKS liURRAU OF FISHERIES 

by Cioode and his associates — Clark, Collins, Ivarll, Elliott, McDonald, and True — 
thoui^h published about twenty years ago, remains a standard work of reference. 
Of special interest and value during recent years have been the numerous con- 
tributions of livermann, either alone or in collaboration, on the fishes of Hawaii, 
Porto Rico, the interior and coastal waters of America, etc. ; the reports of 
Benedict, Rathbun, and others on crustacean resources, of Herrick on the 
lobster, of Kunz on pearls, of Moore on oysters and oyster culture, of Parker 
and Herrick on the special senses in fishes, and various other papers by regular 
assistants of the Bureau on economic, biological, and fish-cultural subjects. 
In addition to the foregoing, the publications treat of the physical conditions 
in lakes and streams, the methods used in deep-sea investigation, and all forms 
of minute animal and plant life in their relation to fishes — reaching into the 
fields of oceanography, hydrography, geology, and chemistry, as well as biology. 
The Bureau is thus responsil)le for a literature which no bibliography of natural 
.science could omit and which has an educational value and popular interest 
widelv acknowledged and availed of. 

For the first ten years of the existence of the Bureau its publications were 
comprised in a series of annual octavo volumes known as the Commissioner's 
Report. In 1881 another series was begun, likewise of annual issue, and desig- 
nated "Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission." These two series 
endured as instituted until the year 1905, when new legislation brought about a 
change. So far as form is concerned, however, the change affects only the Com- 
missioner's Report. This report is no longer a bound book containing a detailed 
discussion of the vear's work with special reports appended, but is reduced to a brief 
administrative statement of results, occupying less than 50 octavo pages. The 
special reports formerly published as appendixes and making up the major portion 
of the original volume are now issued as separate, independent pamphlets under 
distinct title-pages and covers. These papers are in general fish-cultural and 
economic, being detailed accounts of special investigations or experiments briefly 
noticed in the Commissioner's Report and as a rule contemporary. The rela- 
tionship of their subject-matter is recognized in their size and typographical 
style, which is such as to permit them to be bound, if desired, with the Com- 
missioner's Report to which they pertain. They are issued at no fixed intervals, 
but from time to time according to quantity and character of material and the 
exigencies of printing, each annual group, however, being usually completed 
within the year the Commissioner's Report is issued. 

The Bulletin remains as heretofore, composed of papers (chiefly technical) 
upon all phases of aquatic biology studied by the Bureau or its collaborators. 
The volumes are annual, in royal octavo, with continuous pagination and general 
index. The separates are issued at irregular intervals, as are the pamphlets just 
described, and a volume is ordinarily closed within the year following the date 



PUBLICATIONvS 55 

in its title. The present volume of the Bulletin, which is ncarins; completion, 
is the twenty-seventh, for the year 1907. 

The publications are distributed gratis to all persons or institutions that 
desire them. A permanent mailing list is maintained, and individual requests 
also are complied with as received. The change affecting the content of the 
annual report, however, carried with it a new plan in the general distribution 
of docmnents. The laws establishing the Report and Bulletin had contemplated 
their issue in the form of annual bound volumes only, though it was possible to 
obtain a small edition of special papers in advance as separates. The separates, 
of course, offered the advantage of promptness in publication, convenience to 
the reader interested in a particular subject, and economy to the Bureau where 
without them it would have been necessary to supply entire volumes to persons 
desiring only a part. Accordingly, when revision of the printing laws made a 
new course possible, the pamphlet form was adopted almost exclusively for 
general distribution, exception being made only in the case of reference libraries, 
Government Departments, public fishery organizations, institutions of learning, 
etc., for whose purposes the annual bound volumes were better suited. To all 
other addresses on the mailing list and to all subsequent correspondents the 
Bureau forwarded a circular announcement of the change which was to take 
eft'ect, furnishing a classification of subject-matter, and asking to be advised 
what papers would be desired in future. To the extent of the edition provided, 
any or all of the documents published are now supplied in accordance with the 
wishes thus ascertained. The subjects covered in the papers may be classified 
as follows: 

1 . Annual Report of the Commissioner. 

2. Fish-culture: 

(a) Methods. 

(6) Distribution of fish and eggs 

(c) Fish diseases and parasites. 

3. Aquatic biology: 

(a) Economic investigations. 

(6) Explorations and surveys, the methods, apparatus, etc. 

(c) Descriptions of species and faunal lists. 

(d) Morphological, physiological, and pathological studies. 

4. Statistics and methods of the commercial fisheries. 

5. Special subjects, such as oysters, sponges, pearls, fur seals, investiga- 

tions of popular interest, etc., to be designated by applicant. 

For convenience of reference all publications of the Bureau are given a 
serial number, document 635 being the last issued. A list of titles of all avail- 
able documents, arranged by numbers and indexed by subjects, is kept up to 
date and can be had upon request. Most of the earlier numbers are now out of 
print, some of the most valuable works unfortunately being no longer obtain- 
able from any source unless from second-hand book dealers. Of some important 



56 THF. I'NITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 

recent works an edition of 2,000 was exhausted within a year, and several doc- 
uments of particular public interest have run through eight or ten editions. It 
is now possit)le to supply only a few odd hack volumes and some 300 different 
pamphlets. 

The permanent mailing list, which is steadily growing, includes at present 
some 1,500 addresses, representing various National and State government 
departments, fishery organizations and biological societies, public libraries and 
museums, colleges, newspapers and magazines, numerous fish-culturists, edu- 
cators, students, sportsmen, and other persons with related interests. It is in 
the daily requests for particular papers, however, that the public interest in 
the Bureau's work is most manifest. During the past year, which has shown 
an especially marked increase in this respect, 25,423 documents were sent out 
in response to special requests. 

As already stated, the Bureau distributes its publications free upon request. 
The Conmiissioner's Annual Report and the Bulletin (but not the independent 
pamphlet reports) can also be obtained free from Members of Congress, each 
United States Senator and Representative receiving a quota from the edition 
provided for this purpose. The Bulletin in this edition is the cloth-bound vol- 
lune, delivered annually. All of the documents can be purchased in pamphlet 
form from llic Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 
Wasliinglon, I). C, at a price representing ten per cent more than actual cost. 

SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 

Much evidence can be adduced to show that the fish-cultural operations of 

„. , _ , the General Government are of direct financial ben- 

rish Culture , , , _, , . , 

efit to the country at large. Ihe results m the case 

of some sjjecies have been so striking and so widespread that it would be almost 
as supererogatory to refer to them as to discuss the utility of agriculture; in the 
case of other species there can be no doubt of the value of the work, although it 
may be possible only occasionally to distinguish the effects of human interven- 
tion on the fish supply from the effects of natural causes. The outcome of the 
Bureau's efforts to increase the food supply is naturally most evident in the 
case of small streams, lakes, and ponds, of which thousands have been success- 
fully stocked with the most desirable food and game species. It is not necessary 
to refer further to this work, but a few of the important results of operations 
on public waters may appropriately be mentioned. 

The leading river fish of the eastern seaboard is the shad. No other 
anadromous species has been more extensively cultivated and none is now so 
dependent on artificial measures for its perpetuation. Inasmuch as the prin- 
cipal fisheries are in interstate or coastal waters and the movements of the fish 
from tlie high seas to our rivers and back to the high seas place it beyond the 



SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 



57 



claim to ownership which might be urged by the various States were the shad a 
permanent resident within their jurisdiction, it seemed especially desirable and 
necessary that this species should be fostered by the General Government for 
the benefit of the entire country. For this reason, and owing to a serious decline 
that had already set in, the shad was one of the first species whose artificial 
propagation was taken up by the Bureau, and its cultivation is to-day a leading 
factor in fishery work, almost every large stream having been the site of hatching 
operations. The extent of the work may be gaged when it is stated that nearly 




Engaged in hydrograplii 



FISHERIES STEAMER FISH HAWK 

jrvcys on the New England coast, and often i 
east-coast rivers. 



iployed as a sliad hatchery 



3,000 millions of voung shad have been planted by the Bureau in coastal streams; 
and a verv significant point is that the eggs from which these fish were hatched 
were taken from fish that had been caught for market, and hence would have 
been totallv lost if the Bureau had not collected them from the fishermen. 

The great multiplication of all kinds of fishing appliances on the coast, in 
the bays, in the estuaries, and along the courses of the rivers resulted in the 
capture of a verv large part of the run each season before the shad reached the 
spawning grounds, and hence the natural increase was seriously curtailed, and, 



58 



THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



in some streams, almost entirely prevented. Yet the shad catch increased, and 
for many years the fishery prospered in the face of conditions more unfavorable 
than confront any other fish of our eastern rivers At length, however, the 
unrestricted fishing became greedy to an overwhelming extent. The mouths of 
the rivers and the lower waters through which the shad must pass became so 
choked with nets that fishing gear farther upstream could make but slender 
hauls; and for several vears there has been a steadv decline in catch, which 




MAIN DECK OF STEAMER FISH HAWK 
Sliowing arrangement of McDonald automatic jars for hatching shad 

threatens to result in the extinction of the fishery. The Bureau has continued 
its efforts in propagation, but these are curtailed by the factor that is also 
destructive to the fishery. When they first enter the streams the shad are not 
ripe and are useless to the hatcheries, and the spawntakers must therefore wait 
for the run farther upstream ; but with the recent exhaustive fishing in the salt 
waters so few fish have escaped that the egg collections have diminished to an 
alarming extent, being reckoned now in millions where formerly they were 



SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 



59 



hundreds of millions, lender such conditions it is impossible to propagate 
enough fish to offset the quantities taken, and the shad fishery is fast being 
deprived of its one support ; while the present meager shad catch together with 
the enforced curtailment of propagation speaks even more convincingly of the 
value of artificial measures than did the preceding increase. 




>(E IN 



JRLD 



s seine, operated for shad and alewives 
kind. The net proper was 9.600 feet 
^2,000 feet as the total sweep of the s^ 
by steam power and the labor of 80 
many as 3.600 shad were taken at one 
time. Recently the season's yield of shad fell to 
after having been carried on for a century. This se 



LARGEST SE 

at Stony Point. Virginia, on the Potomac River, was the longest net of the 
in length, and the hauling ropes at the ends were 22.400 feet long, giving 
eine. only one end of which shows in the illustration. The seine was hauled 
men. and was drawn twice daily, at ebb tide, throtghout the season. As 
haul, and 126.000 in one season, and 250.000 alewives were caught at one 



o. and the fishery was cor 
of eggs for the 



quently discontinued i 
urcau's shad hatchery 



this 



The long continuance of the Penobscot as a salmon stream for many years 
after all other New England rivers had ceased to carry this fish is directly 
attributable to the work of the Bureau on that stream. So dependent on 
artificial measures has been the perpetuation of the salmon supply that it is 
believed the obliteration of the run and the wiping out of a long-established 
fishery would ensue within five years after the suspension of fish-cultural opera- 



6o 



THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



tions. Physical conditions in the Penobscot have become so unfavorable for 
the passage of salmon to the spawning grounds that natural reproduction is now 
almost if not altogether inhibited; and the only noteworthv source of young 
salmon is the eggs obtained by the Bureau from salmon purchased from the 
tlshcrmen. 




Large 

run of 
tributa 



bers of these traps are s< 

salmon. The fish thii 

if the Penobscot, 



A PENOBSCOT RIVER SALMON 
the IVncbsccl dnriiic tlu- short ^ 



Evidence is not lacking to show that the long-continued and increasingly 
extensive fish-cultural operations on the Great Lakes have prevented the deple- 
tion of those waters in the face of the most exhausting lake fisheries in the world. 
The luscious whitefish, the splendid lake trout, the excellent pike perch, or wall- 
eyed pike, may be hatched in such numbers as to assure their preservation 
without serious curtailment of the fisheries. The absence of concerted protective 
measures, however, on the part of the various States interested has the tendency 



SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 



6l 



to minimize the effects of cultivation and would seem to justify, if not impera- 
tively demand, the assumption of jurisdiction by the Federal Government. 

The magnitude of the salmon fisheries of the Pacific States has required 
very extensive artificial measures to keep up the supply. The operations of 
the Bureau, in combination with those of the States, have been gradually 
extended in both scale and scope until they have now attained a tremendous 
extent and are addressed to all the species whose cultivation is as yet demanded. 




OPEN-AIR SALMON-REARING TROUGHS 
These troughs are used at the Craig Iiroi)k (Maine) hatchery for rearing AlUintic and landlocked salmon. 

The quantity of Pacific salmon eggs collected by the Bureau in 1908 was over 
200,000,000, equivalent to 1,700 bushels. 

A remarkable fact in the history of the Pacific salmons — of which there are 
five species — is that without exception all fish which enter any stream on the 
entire coast die after once spawning, none surviving to return to the sea. This 
wise provision of nature to prevent the overstocking of streams has been made 
fooHsh by the appearance of man on the scene ; he not only catches the salmon 
in the coast waters and the lower courses of the rivers with gill nets, seines, and 
pound nets, in the upper waters with the same appliances supplemented by the 



62 



THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



fish wheels, and on the spawning grounds with all sorts of contrivances, but in 
certain sections even carries his foolhardy greed to the extent of barricading 







.:^m?^^:' 




^ 




0; 




J^ 








- --«tto^jrifct-v'T>' *^'m 




B^l^^^^l 






m^^sp^^H 


^i' }k^ • ■ -lA 




tt'»l.aHW'''!^ 






^^^-^-_^^^^_^^^_ 


«'y-<>IBBB|^^^^^^^^^B 




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 




■jH' 


"^x^si 


^^^^H 




1 


jj^^^P 






7^ 


«__ jS*JV" 


■u 

■^1 



SALMON HATCHERY AT BAIRD, CALIFORNIA 

The pioneer salmon hatchery on the Pacific coast, located on the McCloud River, a 
snow on Mount Shasta. The station can accommodate 25 million eggs at one 
5 million young chinook or quinnat salmon and 15 million eyed eggs. Operalio 
at Haltlc Creek, and Mill Creek (where 74* million eggs of the chinook salmor 
prime factor in maintaining the salmon run in the Sacramento River. 



swift stream formed by the melting 
me, and in 1907-S produced about 
5 of this hatchery and its auxiliaries 
were taken in 1907) have been the 



the streams so that no fish can reach the waters where their eggs must be depos- 
ited. Natural reproduction, thus so seriously curtailed, is not sufficient to keep 



SOME RESULTS OF THK WORK 



63 



up the supply in many of the streams where fishing is most active, for many of 
the eggs escape fertilization, many more are eaten by the swarms of predaceous 
fishes that haunt the spawning beds, and many are lost in various other ways 
during the long hatching period; while the helpless fry and alevin fall a ready 
prey to the same fishes in the upper waters and the young salmon have to run 
the long gauntlet of the rivers only to meet new foes in the estuaries, on the 
coast, and in the open sea. 




cted by the Bii 



RACK AT BATTLE CREEK, CALIFORNIA 



ept salmim on theii 
hatcheries. 



nds .Tiid supply eggs for th( 



It is, therefore, no wonder that artificial propagation on a large scale is 
imperatively demanded in the western salmon streams, and is actively urged 
and highly commended by fishermen, canners, business men, and the public at 
large. The beneficial influence of the work of the Government, supplemented 
by that of the three coast States, has been unmistakable in some sections and 
can not be doubted in general; but it is of course very difficult to distinguish 
definitely the increase due to natural from that due to artificial propagation. 



64 



THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



The history of the sahnon fishery in the Sacramento River in Cahfornia, and 
the recent increase in the catch notwithstanding most unfavorable physical 
conditions in that stream, afford unmistakable evidence of the value of cultiva- 
tion. Some very suggestive though not altogether conclusive information rela- 
tive to the benefits of salmon culture in the Columbia River has been furnished by 
marking young salmon before releasing them from the hatcheries. The number 
of marked salmon that returned as mature fish and were captured and reported 





eW-4 



COLLECTING COD EGGS ON A FISHING VESSEL 



od eggs hatched at the Ne^ 
the fishing boats, o 



Kngland stations is the catch of the market fisherme 
crhaul the fish, and save the eggs of such as are ripe. 



indicates a very large percentage of survivals and suggests the growing depend- 
ence on artificial propagation for the maintenance of the runs. 

In the case of marine hatching operations it is so difficult to prove bene- 
ficial results that their utility is doubted by some people. When the Bureau 
began the cultivation of the cod and the lobster many years ago, it proceeded 
on the principle that tlie efi'ects of the fishermen's improvidence could be coun- 
teracted by artificial propagation. The ultimate success of cod and lobster cul- 



SOME RESULTS OF THE \V(JRK 



6s 



ture on the Atlantic coast was therefore confidently expected, and tlie expec- 
tations have been more than realized. Practical results of an unmistakable 
character were first manifested nearly twenty years ago, since which time a 
very lucrative shore cod fishery has been kept up on grounds that were entirely 
depleted or that had never contained cod in noteworthy numbers in the memorv 
of the oldest inhabitants. There is much unsolicited testimony on this point 
from many people who have profited from the operations of the Maine and 
Massachusetts stations. The benefits have not been confined to the immediate 




LOBSTER AND COD HATCHERY AT BOOTHBAY HARBOR, MAINE 

vicinity of the hatcheries, but have extended westward and southward along 
the Middle Atlantic coast and eastward along the whole coast of Maine. The 
benefits of lobster culture have been slower in appearing, owing, in part at least, 
to the less extensive operations and the excessive mortality to which the young 
are liable; but from all parts of the New England coast there are being received 
reports of more lobsters, particularly of small size, than have been seen for many 
years, and there is reason to believe that the long-continued decline of the 
lobster fishery has been arrested. 
55778-08 5 



66 



THp; UXITI'.D STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Acclimatization 



Economic results of great value have come from the transplanting of native 
aquatic animals into waters in which they are not 
indigenous and from the introduction of fishes of 
foreign countries into the ITnited States. The supply of food and game fishes 
of every section of the country has thus been increased and enriched, fisheries 
of vast extent have been established, and the pleasures of angling have been 
greatly enhanced. 




BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF LEADVILLE, COLORADO, HATCHERY 



the Rocky Mountains, is devo 
brook, and other trouts. 



c.f tlic blnck spolU-d. 



In all the waters of the eastern, central, and southern parts of the United 
States the range of every important native food and game fish has been 
extended artificially. Especially extensive work has been done with the black 
basses {M iciopierus) , the crappies {Pomoxis), the rock bass {Amhloplites), the 
sunfishes (Lepomis), the brook trout {Sahclinus jontinaUs) , the lake trout {Cris- 
tivomer namaycush) , the landlocked salmon {Salmo sebago), and the catfishes 
{Ameiurus and I ctalurus) . Among the more conspicuous examples of this class 
of work has been the stocking of the Potomac River with black basses, crappies, 
and catfishes. 



SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 



67 



Among the eastern fresh-water fishes that have been estabhshed and more 
or less widely colonized in the Rocky Mountains or in transmontane regions are 
the large-mouth black bass, the crappy, the yellow perch, several catfishes and 
sunfishes, and the brook trout. Sportsmen of all the Western States can now 
find excellent black-bass and brook-trout fishing. Colorado, which has known 
the brook trout only a few years, is thoroughly stocked and affords unsurpassed 
opportunities for anglers. So successful has been the work in that State that 
the Government now draws most of its supply of brook-trout eggs therefrom, 




CATCHING AND SORTING THE BROOD FISH AT A THOUT-CULTUR AL STATION IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 

and the progeny of Colorado fish are used for replenishing eastern waters from 
which the original stock was taken for introduction into Colorado. 

The most noteworthy results of the introduction of native fishes into new 
regions have been seen in the Pacific States and represent two contributions from 
the Atlantic seaboard — the shad and the striped bass. The economic outcome 
of the acclimatization of these fishes is without parallel in the entire history of 
migratory species. 

The colonizing of the shad on tlie Pacific coast was one of the greatest 
achievements in fish acclimatization. Aside from the important '--i]nancial 



68 



THE rXITKD STATES HCREAU OF FISHERIES 



results, the experiment was noteworthy because of certain changes that have 
occurred in the habits of the species, and because the feat of transporting shad 
frv across the continent at that early day was justly regarded as remarkable, 
and had a marked influence on the development of fish transportation, which 
has now attained such perfection. With the experiment were associated two 
of the pioneer fish-cult urists of America, whose name and fame are known the 
world over — Seth Green and Livingston Stone. Relatively small plants of 
shad frv were made in the Sacramento River, California, in 1871, 1873, 1876, 




STRIPPING AND FERTILIZING TROUT EGGS AT AfSTATION IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 



1877, 1878, and 1880, and in the Columbia River, between Oregon and Wash- 
ington, in 1885 and 1886, the aggregate for each stream being less than one 
million and onlv one-hundredth of the plants sometimes made in an east-coast 
river in a single season. 

In April, 1873, the first shad was taken in California, and shortly there- 
after many more were caught in the vicinity of San Francisco; by 1879 the 
fish had become numerous, and by 1886 it had become one of the most abun- 
dant food fishes of the State. In 1876 or 1877 shad were first taken in the 



SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 69 

Columljia, so it is evident that an offshoot from the Cahfornia colony soon 
migrated northward and had already established itself when the new emigrants 
arrived from the east eight or nine years later. By 1881 the fish seems to have 
become distributed along the coast of Washington, and in 1882 reached Puget 
Sound. It was nine years later, however, when the first pioneer was recorded 
from Fraser River, British Columbia, and the same year there was a report of 
shad in Stikine River, southeast Alaska. In 1904 a fine roe shad, caught at 
Kasilof, on Cook Inlet, was the first known arrival in that remote region. To 
the southward the fish is found as far as Los Angeles County, and the present 
range of the species thus extends along about 4,000 miles of coast. It is not 
improbable that the migrations of the shad will extend still farther. 

The two great centers of the shad's abundance are the Sacramento basin 
and the lower Columbia River, and it has been asserted that in either of these 
• waters more shad could be taken than in any other water course in the country. 
The catch affords an inadequate criterion of the shad's abundance, for fishermen 
and dealers report that it would be easily possible, should the demand warrant 
it, to treble or quadruple the present yield, as most of the fish are now taken 
incidentally in apparatus set primarily for other species. Viewed from the 
purely business standpoint, the transplanting of shad to the Pacific coast has 
been a remarkably good investment. From the best information obtainable, 
the entire cost of the experiment was less than $4,000, while the aggregate 
catch for market in California, Oregon, and Washington to the end of 1907 was 
approximately 15,000,000 pounds, for which the fishermen received $330,000. 

The history of the introduction of the striped bass on the western seaboard 
is quite similar to that of the shad, and the result has been equally striking. In 
1879, 135 young striped bass from New Jersey were deposited in San Francisco 
Bay, and in 1882 a plant of 300 small fish from the same State was made in the 
same place. These meager colonies found the waters of California fully as con- 
genial as did the shad, and the fish has shown an almost uninterrupted increase 
in abundance to the present time. From the San Francisco region the species 
has gradually spread up and down the coast, and its range may eventually 
equal that of the shad. Up to 1896 the fish had not been reported outside of 
California, but several years thereafter it began to run in some of the coast 
rivers of Oregon, and in the fall of 1906 half a dozen fine specimens were caught 
in traps at the mouth of the Columbia River, the first recorded from that stream. 

The striped bass, far removed from its ancestral home, has maintained the 
enviable reputation it enjoys in the East, and is freely recognized by its new 
friends as one of the best food and game fishes of the Pacific coast. A number 
of years ago the catch in California exceeded that of any other State, while now 
it surpasses that of any group of States along the eastern seaboard. The fish 
has become a prime favorite with anglers, and it is now probably the leading 
game fish of California. While it always commands a high price in the East, 



70 THR UNITKO STATES KURRAT OF FISHKRIF.S 

and is often to be ranked as a luxury, its abundance in California waters has so 
reduced the cost to consumers that even the most frugal can afford to eat it, 
and a comparison made some years ago showed that throughout the year the 
San Francisco dealers were underselling the New York dealers by many points. 
The economic importance of the introduction of the striped bass on the Pacific 
coast may be judged from the fact that the entire cost of transplanting was less 
than $1 ,000, while the value of the catch to the end of 1907 was about $925,000, 
a simi representing a yield of more than 16,500,000 pounds. 

The only fishes which the Western States have given to the remainder of 
the country are two trouts; but the transplanting of several other trouts is now 
in progress, and systematic and extensive efforts are being made to establish 
several of the Pacific salmons in the New Ivngland rivers. The foremost con- 
tribution of the West to the East is the rainbow trout. The transplanting of this 
species in regions east of the Rocky Mountains has been a conspicuous success- 
and has proved a decided boon to many communities. Its acclimatization by 
the General Government was first undertaken in 1880, although it is probable 
that some years prior thereto small plants had been made in new waters by 
State commissions or private persons. It has now been introduced into nearly 
every State and Territory, and has become one of the most generally known 
fishes in every part of the country. In Michigan, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, 
Colorado, Nevada, and throughout the Allegheny Mountain region its trans- 
planting has been followed by especially noteworthy results. Its position in 
the streams and lakes of the Eastern States is that of a substitute and not a 
rival of the brook trout. It is well adapted for the stocking of waters formerly 
inhabited by the brook trout, in which the latter no longer thrives on account 
of changed physical conditions; it is also suited to warmer, deeper, and more 
sluggish waters than the brook trout finds congenial. 

The anadromous steelhead trout of the Pacific coast has been established 
in Lake Superior and other parts of the Great Lakes as a result of plants of 
young fish made in 1896, and has also obtained a firm hold in a number of New 
I{ngland lakes, proving a very acceptable addition to the supply of food and 
game fishes. It readily adapts itself to a strictly fresh-water existence, and soon 
reproduces in its new habitat. 

The debt that sportsmen owe to the fishery service of the United States and 
the several States for their acclimatization work is heavy and increasing yearly, 
and the obligation is shared indirectly, but not the less actually, by hotel keepers, 
boatmen, merchants, landowners, and others. There could be cited numerous 
concrete examples of the varied benefits that have come to communities through 
the stocking of local waters with nonindigenous species. In some cases the 
improvement in the fishing has so increased the influx of people that land about 
the waters has increased several hundred per cent in value in a few years. 



SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 71 

Quite a number of Old World fishes have been introduced into American 
waters, and some of them have become well known in various parts of the 
country. Two European trouts, the brown trout and the Scotch lake trout, 
have been cultivated here for a score of years, and are now found in many 
private waters. The acclimatization of the European sea trout and the Swiss 
lake trout has also been effected. None of these fishes, however, has any 
superiority over native species, and the demand for them is decreasing. The 
Asiatic goldfish and the European golden ide or orf and tench are now very 
familiar ornamental species in America, but have little commercial value; 
the tench, however, is found in a few streams and reaches the markets in small 
numbers. Of all the exotic fishes, however, none is so well known, so widely 
distributed, so abundant, and so valuable as the carp, which was introduced 
from Germany upward of thirty years ago. This fish has excited a great deal 
of criticism, mostly unfriendly, and it is to-day regarded with disfavor by 
manv people, chiefly anglers, because of real or supposed habits that are repre- 
hensible. As a commercial proposition, the bringing of the carp to America 
has been of immense benefit, for to-day it is one of the common food fishes of 
the country, it is regularly exposed for sale in every large city and innumerable 
small towns, it supports special fisheries in 15 States, and it is regularly taken 
for market in 35 States. The sales at this time amount to fully 20,000,000 
pounds annually, for which the fishermen receive $500,000. 

The principal carp fishery is in Illinois, where fishermen have for years 
been reaping a golden harvest, finding a ready sale in the West and also sending 
large consignments to New York in special cars. The next important center 
is the western end of Take Erie, in Ohio and Michigan, where large special 
ponds have been constructed and a peculiar form of cultivation has sprung up. 
Other important carp States are Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, 
New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. 

It is not as a great market fish, however, that the carp is destined to attain 
its highest importance among us, but as a fish for private culture and home 
consumption. The number of farmers and small landowners who are alive to 
the benefits of private fish ponds is increasing at a very rapid rate, and hundreds 
of thousands of such in all parts of the country, but particularly in the great 
central region, will find in the carp a fish well adapted to their needs and 
conditions. 

It is probable that the commercial value of carp is insignificant compared 
with its importance as a food for other fishes. It is extensively eaten by many 
of our most highly esteemed food fishes and is the chief pabulum of some of 
them in some places. In a number of the best black-bass streams, like the 
Potomac and the Illinois, the carp is very abundant and is a favorite food of 
the voung and adult bass, while in California the introduced striped bass has 



72 Till'. UN-ITI-.n STATES lU'REAT OF KISHKRIRS 

from tlic outset sulisisted larj^ely on carp and may owe its remarkable increase 
to the presence of this food. 

The consumption of carp is certainly destined to increase greatly; but 
even if the catch reaches no higher point, the introduction of the carp into the 
United States will remain the leading achievement in fish acclimatization in 
recent times, and, with the exception of the original introduction of the same 
fish into Europe from Asia, the most important the world has known. 

Among the acclimatization experiments that have not yet been pro\ed 
successful, but that there is every reason to believe will eventually become so, 
is the transplanting of the lobster {Homarus aniericanus) to the Pacific coast. 
There is jirobably no food animal of the eastern seaboard whose acclimatiza- 
tion on the Pacific coast would prove so great a boon as the lobster. As early 
as 1873 the Bureau made its first move to supply the deficiency, and up to 
1889 five attempts to establish the species were made, the deposits being at 
various points from Monterey Bay to Puget Sound. No positive results having 
ai)peared, the experiment was renewed in the fall of 1906, when a special carload 
of brood lobsters, numbering more than all the previous plants combined, was 
dispatched to Puget Sound, and in 1907 a still more extensive plant, aggregating 
about 1 ,000 adult lobsters, was made in the same water. Further consign- 
ments will be made until the lobster is removed from the list of failures and 
recorded as a great financial as well as gastronomic success. 

The long-continued and systematic field and laboratory work of the Bureau 
has resulted in a most thorough knowledge of the 

Bioiogicannjj^ugations distribution, variation, abundance, habits^ etc., of 
the fishes and other creatures of the interior, coast- 
wise, and olTshore waters of the United States, Hawaii, and Porto Rico — a 
knowledge which is indispensable to the Government in its fish-cultural work 
and to the various States and insular authorities in their legislative efforts to 
preserve their fishery resources. The practical results of this work are apparent 
in numerous specific instances. 

For a number of years the Bureau has been engaged in an endeavor to 
develop a jiractical method of fattening oysters. It is the custom of many oyster 
growers to transplant their oysters, shortly before putting them on the market, 
to beds where the natural supply of food is luxuriant, and oysters fatten rapidly. 
In many localities such favorable places are few or entirely lacking, and the 
o\stennen are comi)elled to put inferior stock upon the market, and thus forfeit 
the full measure of ])r()fil. The experiments which have been carried on are 
intended to develop a method of producing these fattening beds artificially in 
localities where they do not naturally exist. By the use of commercial ferti- 
lizers it has been found possible to produce the desired abvmdance of oyster 
food, and the only important problem yet awaiting solution is that of materially 
increasing the outjmt of tlu- artificial claire emjiloyerl for the experiments. Con- 



SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 73 

siderable progress toward this end has been made recently, the yield of the claire 
in 1907 being 176 barrels, against 125 barrels in the preceding year; and, as 
with a given equipment the expenses of operation are not materially increased 
whatever the product, this increase, if it can be carried further, as present con- 
ditions indicate, will result in sufticient margin between the cost of the treatment 
and the increased value of the fattened oysters to warrant its recommendation 
as a commercial process. The oysters fattened by this method are as fine as 
any placed on the market, and have been used with satisfaction at some of the 
best hotels and clubs of New York, Philadelphia, and W'ashington. 

Upon two subjects in particular has the Bureau expended much energy 
and at last achieved results by persistently sounding the note of warning. The 
utmost efforts in artificial propagation can not save the shad fishery without 
the aid of laws to permit a certain number of spawning fish to reach the streams; 
while on the other hand no practicable protective laws can save the oyster sup- 
ply without cultural work to keep up the beds. The Bureau has no power to 
do more than hatch fish in the one case, devise methods of culture in the other, 
and cry out the needs of both; and it lies solely with the States to provide for 
the needs. 

North Carolina rose to the emergency of the shad situation a few years ago 
and asked the aid of the Bureau in determining the actual protection required 
by the shad, the actual condition of the fishery, and the possible remedies for 
a rapidly diminishing yield. The Bureau's recommendations were asked for by 
the State legislature, and a commission was appointed to draft salutary laws, 
which have since gone into effect, confining gear to prescribed areas and leaving 
clear channels for the passage of the fish. Immediate result was seen at the 
Government hatchery in the Albemarle region. The collection of shad eggs in 
these waters in five years had dropped from 75 millions to 6]4 millions. The 
next year, which was the first of enforcement of the new laws, the collection was 
25^ millions, and in 1908 the most successful shad hatchery was in this State, 
the egg collections exceeding 55 millions. 

The oyster fishery has had a common history in all of the Southern States, 
of which Maryland, once the foremost in oyster production and the last to resort 
to systematic cultural measures, affords the most notable example. The laws 
controlling the fishery in Chesapeake Bay have been designed to protect the nat- 
ural beds, but have not encouraged or protected the oyster planter, and the 
natural beds, thus practically the sole reliance, in time failed to sustain the 
tremendous draft upon them. Between 1880 and 1897 the product fell 31.6 per 
cent; in 1904 it was 39 per cent less than in 1897. 

The Bureau had for many years pointed out the short-sighted policy that 
was resulting in the steady decline of the oyster industry, and was at length 
gratified to find that the State had taken heed of the warning and enacted a com- 
prehensive law favoring oyster planting. The work that has now been under- 



74 



TIIK UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



taken by the Maryland Shell Fish Commission to remedy the alarming condition 
of the oyster grounds will be the most complete and accurate of its kind. It 
consists of the survey and delimitation, by the aid of the United States Coast 
and Geodetic Survey and the Bureau of Fisheries, of all natural oyster beds in 
Maryland waters, to be marked and set aside as public fishing grounds operated 
under the existing protective laws. All other suitable grounds will then be 




THE OYSTER FLEET AT BALTIMORE 

H^illiincirc, at the head of ChcKipeake Day. is the leading oyster market of the world. Over 600 oyster vessels, carrying 
3,600 men, land their catch here: and nearly 8,000 men on shore arc engaged in handling, shucking, canning, and 
shipping the oysters. The (iiiantity of oysters landed in Haltimore in a single season has sometimes reached nearly 
7,000,000 bushels, worth abimt S3,soo.ooo. 

reserved by the State to be leased to oyster planters, whose enterprise will be 
encouraged and their rights protected as was not possible heretofore. 

Up to 1898 there were few planted beds of oysters in Louisiana waters. 
Investigation of the oyster grounds by the Bureau in that year, however, led 
to the passage of beneficial laws and proved a general stimulus to oyster culture 
in that State, as is shown by the fact that some 20,000 acres of bottom were 
soon under cultivation. In 1906 the State Oyster Commission, still further to 
promote the local industry, again asked the Bureau's assistance, and large 



SOJIK RESULTS OF THE WORK 75 

areas of unutilized bottom were examined to determine their productive capac- 
ity. The conditions were found to be exceptionally favorable, and experi- 
mental plants produced 3 '-^ to 4 inch oysters in quantities of i ,000 to 2 ,000 
bushels per acre, within two years after the cultch was put down. In Barataria 
Bay, where there had been no oysters whatever, such promising beds were 
established that several hundred acres of adjacent bottom were immediately 
leased by prospective planters. Other localities, though they have so far 
shown no such conspicuous commercial enterprise, may be expected to prove 
equally productive. 

Experiments in sponge culture have been in progress for several years, 
and have now developed a practical system by which sponges may be produced 
from cuttings at a cost much less than that entailed in taking them from the 
natural beds. In view of the more rapid depletion of the natural beds which 
will undoubtedly result from recent changes in the methods of the fishery, the 
Bureau is convinced that the preservation of the American sponge industry 
will depend upon cultivation; and as it is estimated that about $1,500,000 
worth of sponges were taken in Florida during the past year, the failure of the 
fishery would be a serious commercial loss to the State. 

In cooperation with the Rhode Island Fish Commission, the Bureau has 
developed new methods of lobster and soft-shell clam culture which are being 
applied with success in New England. Experiments with the hard-shell clam 
are now in progress at Beaufort. 

Important work recently undertaken is an effort to establish mussel culture 
in the Mississippi Valley. The supply of mussels in those waters, on which is 
based a pearl-button industry valued at about $5,000,000 per annum, with an 
investment of $6,000,000, is being rapidly exhausted, and the mussel fishermen 
and manufacturers recognize that without scientific cooperation of the Gov- 
ernment the business is doomed to early extinction. The Bureau in one season's 
work has practically, though not conclusively, shown a method by which the 
pearl mussels can be propagated, and is demonstrating that the work can be 
carried on at a comparatively small expense in connection with the already 
established operations in rescuing fishes from the overflowed lands, the fish 
reclaimed being employed, without injury to themselves, in the dissemination 
of the larvse of the mussels. There have been liberated 25,000 fish, bearing 
about 25,000,000 young mussels ready to drop and begin their independent 
existence, and already past the stage when they are most subject to fatality. 
The work is also capable of application to waters under private control and 
will probably become a source of respectable revenue to farmers and others 
whose property embraces streams, ponds, and lakes. The importance of this 
work is urgently insisted upon by the National Pearl Button Manufacturers' 
Association, which embraces practically the entire capital invested in the 
business. 



76 



Till': rxiTK.n states iu'rrau of fishkriks 



In the field of fish diseases great progress has been made in the extension 
of knowledge of the causes of many of the fatalities which sometimes make a 
clean sweep of the hatcheries and which heretofore could not be adequately 
coped with because their etiology was not understood. The services of the 
scientific staff in this regard have been not only of great benefit to the Gov- 
ernment, but are highly regarded and frequently availed of by State and private 
fish-culturists. Among the direct material aids rendered to fish culture in the 




THE FRESH-FISH FLEET AT T WHARF, BOSTON 

;trycr riiiantities of fresh sea fish arc landed at Boston than at any other port in the I'nited States. The principal species 
are cod. ciisk. haddock, hake, pollock, halibut, swordfish. and mackerel, together with lobsters, oysters, and clains. 
A day's receipts of fresh fish from the Broimds off the New England coast have sometimes exceeded 2.000.000 



V 



past four or five vears arc the following: (i) Determination of the cause and 
remedv for the fatal malady known as the "gas disease," which at one station 
killed 1,200,000 brook-trout fry out of 1,300,000 on hand; (2) isolation of a 
bacterial organism producing a fatal disease in trout, and discovery of a possible 
remedv; (3) determination of the cause of a fatal protozoan disease in trout; 

(4) discoverv of a remedy for the diatom disease of lol)ster eggs and larva?; 

(5) studies of the causes for tlie dealli of fish in ca])tivit\- aiul the detcTiiiinntion 



SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 



11 



in a number of cases of responsible peculiarities in the water supply ; (6) studies 
of the character of streams and the effects of various conditions on fishes, which 
have supplied much information on the subject to the public; (7) determina^ 
tion of the effects on fishes of galvanized iron and other metallic containers used 
in transportation of fish and fry, and (8) indication of certain undesirable types 
of vessels. 




Gloucester. Mass., 
fishing vessels ai 
literally depends 



the leading fislii 
1 in the various 
in the sea for its t 



THE FISHING FLEET IN GLOUCESTER HARBOR 

rt in the Western Hemisphere. Nearly 6,000 persons are employed 
industries dependent on the fisheries, and the entire population of 



The importance to the fishing interests of the work of the Bureau in 
connection with the economic fisheries is widely ap- 
Commerclal Fisheries predated and freely acknowledged. The statistical 

inquiries of the Bureau afford the only adequate basis for determining the con- 
dition and trend of the fisheries and the results of legislation, protection, and 
cultivation. Among the numerous special matters in which the Bureau has 
benefited the fisheries the following may be mentioned : 

By bringing to the attention of American fishermen new methods and new 
apparatus, new fisheries have sometimes been established and new fields 
exploited. 



V 



78 



THH I'NITED STATKS BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



By the introduction of gill nets with glass-ball floats for taking cod the 
winter cod fishery of New England was revolutionized. In a single season 
shortly after the use of such nets began a few Cape Ann (Gloucester) fishermen 
took by this means over 8,000,000 pounds of large-sized fish, and as much as 
§50,000 has sometimes been saved annually in the single item of bait. 

By the dissemination of information regarding new fishing grounds impor- 
tant fisheries have been inaugurated. Thus when the al)undancc of halibut off 




SALT COD DRYING IN THE FLAKE YARD OF A GLOUCESTER FISH-PACKING ESTABLISHMENT 

the coast of Iceland was made known by the Bureau a fishery was begun which 
yielded from $70,000 to Si 00,000 annually to the New England fishermen. 

The Bureau has experimented with various unused or little-used products 
in order to determine their economic value and to suggest the best ways of util- 
izing them. Less than fifteen years ago there was practically no market for 
the silver hake or whiting (Mcrluccius bilinearis) , and immense ([uantities inci- 
dentally taken in pound nets and other apparatus were thrown away. The 
Bureau pointed out the possibility of preparing a marketable salt whiting; and 



SOME RESULTS OF THE WORK 



79 



it is a significant fact that in a few years the sales of this fish in New England 
have increased from about 100,000 pounds to 5,000,000 pounds. 

Owing to the appalling mortality among the crews of the New England 
fishing vessels, owing in large part to the foundering of the vessels at sea, the 
Bureau many years ago undertook the introduction into the offshore fisheries 
of a type of craft which would combine large carrying capacity and great speed 
with enhanced safety. By correspondence, discussions in the daily press, per- 
sonal interviews, exhibition of models, and finally by the actual construction of 




FISHERY SCHOONER GRAMPUS 

lilt by the United Slates Government as an object lesson. The general adoptic 
tlic uff5hi:)re fisheries has resulted in great saving of life and property, and has 



,f swift, safe ves: 
.tud the lishcrics 



a full-sized schooner (the Grampus) with the requisite qualities, the Bureau was 
able to inaugurate a momentous change in the architecture of fishing vessels, 
so that for a long time the New England schooners have been constructed on 
the new lines, with a consequent minimizing of disasters and a decided increase 
in efficiency. For other fisheries and regions the Bureau has likewise advocated 
improved tvpes of vessels and boats especially adapted to local conditions, and 
has published plans and specifications embodying the results of studies of the 
fishing flotilla of the world. The results of the Bureau's efforts in this line, in 



8o . THK CXITi:!) STATKS HrRKAl' OK KISIIKRIHS 

savinij life and proptTty, in increasing tlie usefulness of the vessels, and in 
iinprovin.tj the quality of the catch as landed can not be estimated, but the 
beneficial effects may lie partly apjireciated when it is stated that during the 
ten years ended in 1883, when the old types of vessels were in use, there were lost 
by foundering from the port of Gloucester alone 82 vessels, valued at more than 
S4(X),(X)(), with their crews of 895 men; while during the ten years ending in 
n;()7 the losses from this cause aggregated only a fourth as nianv vessels and 
men. ' 



i:-Ja'09 /t 



